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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


mm 


?',, 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/forerunnersofdanOObutliala 


THE  FORERUNNERS 
OF   DANTE 

A  SELECTION  FROM  ITALIAN  POETRY 
BEFORE  1300 

EDITED  BY 

A.   J.    BUTLER 

PROFESSOR    OF  ITALIAN    LITERATURE    IN 
UNIVERSITY  COLLEGE,    LONDON 


OXFORD 

AT  THE   CLARENDON   PRESS 

1910 


HENRY    FROWDE,    M.A. 

PUBLISHER  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OXFORD 

LONDON,  EDINBURGH,  NEW  YORK 

TORONTO  AND  MELBOURNE 


College 
library 


TO 

RHODA   BUTLER 

WITHOUT   WHOSE    HELP   THIS    BOOK   WOULD   NOT   HAVE 
BEEN   WRITTEN    IT    IS   DEDICATED    BY    HER    FATHER 


1221601 


CONTENTS 


Preface  . 

PlERO   DELLE   VlNGNE 
NOTARO   GlACOMO      . 

Jacopo  Mostacci    . 
King  John  of  Brienne 

RlNALDO   D'AQUINO  . 

glacomino  pugliese 

compagnetto  da  prato 

Jacopo  d' Aquino     . 

Tomaso  di  Sasso  di  Messina 

gludice  guido  delle  colonne  di  messina 

Mazzeo  di  Rico  di  Messina  . 

Prezivalle  Doria  (?) 

folcalchieri  di  slena  . 

TlBERTO   GALLIZIANI    DI    PlSA    . 

Galletto  di  Pisa  . 

Leonardo  del  Guallaco  di  Pisa 

Betto  Mettifucco  di  Pisa    . 

odo  delle  colonne  di  messina 

Ruggierone  di  Palermo 

Anonymous     .... 

'Ciullo  d'Alcamo' 

Messer  Osmano 

Fra  Guittone  d'Arezzo 

Chiaro  Davanzati 

bonagiunta  da  lucca   . 

Pucciandone  Martelli  da  Pisa 

guido  di  guinizello  da  bologna 

Onesto  da  Bologna 

Guido  Cavalcanti  da  Firenze 

ClNO   DA   PlSTOIA 

Notes 

Index  of  First  Lines  . 


PREFACE 

Italy  is  unique  among  European  countries  in  having 
twice  seen  its  literature  culminate,  at  epochs,  indeed,  far 
remote  one  from  the  other  ;  and  each  time  in  a  poet 
who  by  common  consent  holds  rank  among  the  four 
or  five  greatest  among  men  of  European  speech. 
The  older  Italian,  which  we  call  Latin,  and  the  later 
Latin,  which  we  call  Italian,  must  not  be  regarded 
as  parent  and  child  ;  they  are  the  same  individual  at 
various  stages  of  development,  as  Dante  was  well 
aware.  Throughout  the  treatise  on  language  and 
literature  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  De  Vulgari 
Eloquentia,  the  word  he  uses  to  designate  his  own 
mother- tongue  is  Latino.  The  three  chief '  Romance ' 
languages,  as  we  now  style  them,  are  for  him  French, 
'  Spanish '  (including  Provencal),  and  '  Latin  ' ;  the 
vernacular  of  Italy  is  vulgare  latinum.  His  instinct  was 
quite  right ;  he  would  have  understood  Virgil,  in  all 
probability,  though  he  had  never  read  another  word 
of  ancient  Latin,  while  Virgil  would  have  understood 
him,  and  recognized  in  his  speech  something  very 
closely  resembling  what  he  had  heard  every  day  in  the 
streets  of  Rome,  or  the  country  lanes  round  Mantua. 

If  we  consider  these  two  culminating  epochs  of 
Italian  literature,  we  shall  be  struck  by  two  points  of 
similarity.  First  there  is  the  extraordinary  rapidity 
of  development  in  both  cases.  A  hundred  years 
before  Virgil  was  born,  Latin  poetry  was  represented 


vi  PREFACE 

by  a  number  of  plays  founded  on  the  Greek,  and  a 
versified  chronicle  in  the  rugged  indigenous  Saturnian 
metre.  A  hundred  years  before  Dante  was  born  there 
was,  so  far  as  we  know,  no  Italian  poetry  at  all,  other 
than  the  popular  songs  of  which  we  can  only  infer  the 
existence  from  what  we  know  of  the  universal  habits 
of  mankind.  The  other  point  to  be  noticed  is  this : 
In  the  earlier  period,  not  only  was  the  drama  imported 
straight  from  Greece,  but  the  lyric  and  elegiac  metres, 
even  the  hexameter  itself,  which  in  Virgil's  hands 
became  such  an  instrument  as  the  world  has  never  since 
beheld  for  expressing  and  arousing  all  the  nobler 
emotions — arma>  amor,  rectitudo,  as  Dante  classifies 
them — all  these  and  their  themes  were  in  the  first 
instance  purely  exotic,  consciously  introduced  by  men 
of  letters. 

At  the  second  great  outburst  of  poetry  in  Italy  a 
similar  process  went  on,  though  it  took  its  rise  some- 
what differently.  Instead  of  Italy  consciously  seeking 
foreign  models,  the  foreign  model  seems  rather  to  have 
been  introduced  by  forces  acting  from  without.  For 
a  full  century  before  any  vernacular  poetry  appeared 
in  Italy  the  neighbouring  country  of  Southern  Gaul 
had  been  a  very  nest  of  singing-birds.  It  is  not 
necessary  here  to  discuss  social  and  other  causes  which 
brought  about  this  development,  or  to  criticize  the 
poetry  of  the  troubadours.  We  need  merely  note 
that  in  the  course  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries  nearly  every  man  of  education  in  Guyenne 
and  Languedoc — which,  rather  than  Provence  proper, 
was  the  troubadours'  land — seems  to  have  been  a  more 
or  less  competent  versifier,  and  that  many  of  their 


PREFACE  vii 

compositions  which  have  been  preserved  possess  a 
richness  of  melody  and  a  variety  of  rhythm  such  as 
perhaps  have  never  since  been  surpassed. 

Throughout  the  twelfth  century  various  forms  of 
heresy  were  rife  in  Provence  and  the  adjacent  regions, 
but  it  was  not  till  about  the  year  1200  that  serious 
efforts  were  made  to  suppress  them.  Innocent  III, 
one  of  the  popes  to  whom  the  Roman  See  is  most 
indebted  for  the  position  it  attained  towards  the  end 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  was  elected  in  1198.  Before 
long  a  crusade  against  the  Albigenses  was  set  on 
foot,  and  for  ten  years  Languedoc  was  given  up  to 
slaughter  and  rapine.  Those  who  preferred  a  quiet 
life  not  unnaturally  went  elsewhere.  Some  trouba- 
dours had  already  found  a  hospitable  welcome  at  the 
Courts  of  various  North  Italian  princes,  the  Marquises 
of  Montferrat  and  Este,  and  the  Counts  of  San 
Bonifacio.  They  carried  with  them  not  only  their 
art,  but  their  language  also.  It  does  not  seem  to 
have  occurred,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  courtly 
poets  of  Italy  that  they  had  a  language  of  their  own, 
capable  of  being  employed  for  the  expression  of 
passion  or  sentiment.  Throughout  Lombardy  and 
Venetia,  and  indeed  further  to  the  south,  Provencal 
was  for  a  long  time  the  only  language  which  a  self- 
respecting  poet  could  use.  Malaspinas  and  Dorias 
corresponded  with  each  other  and  with  the  strangers 
in  those  curious  metrical  debates  known  as  tensos  or 
tenzoni,  and  as  late  as  1268  a  Venetian  nobleman  was 
writing  a  plank  or  elegy  over  the  defeat  and  death  of 
Conradin.  The  troubadours,  it  may  be  noted,  were 
mostly  Ghibellines,  as  might  be  expected  of  men  who 


viii  PREFACE 

had  found  favour  with  the  Emperor  and  feudal  princes 
and  had  reason  to  see  in  the  Papal  policy  the  cause 
of  the  troubles  which  afflicted  their  own  land.  One 
name  is  conspicuous  among  the  Provencalising  Italians 
— that  of  Sordello  of  Mantua.  Whether  he  had,  as 
Dante  rather  seems  to  imply,1  begun  by  writing  poetry 
in  his  native  tongue,  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  no  such 
compositions  of  his  have  survived.  Of  his  work  in 
Provencal  we  have,  however,  a  respectable  body ; 
including  a  moral  treatise,  the  Ensenhamen  a*Onor, 
in  some  1300  lines,  and  the  famous  '  Lament  for 
Blacaz ',  which,  with  its  invective  against  the  existing 
sovereigns  of  Europe,  is  thought  by  some  to  have 
suggested  the  similar  tirade  at  the  end  of  the  nine- 
teenth canto  of  the  Paradise,  and  to  have  earned  for 
its  writer  the  post  which  he  holds  in  the  Purgatory. 
He  seems  to  have  been  living  at  least  down  to  1268. 
Curiously  enough,  the  earliest  essay  in  Italian  verse 
which  has  come  down  to  us  is  the  work  of  a  Pro- 
vencal. Towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century 
Raimbaut  de  Vaqueiras  of  Orange  went  to  Italy  and 
entered  the  service  of  Marquis  Boniface  of  Montferrat. 
He  has  left  as  a  memorial  of  his  residence  in  those 
parts  a  somewhat  amusing  little  piece  in  the  form  of 
a  dialogue  between  a  Proven9al  stranger  and  a  lady 
of  Genoa.  The  Provencal  opens  with  a  string  of 
compliments,  introducing  most  of  the  terms  of  the 
troubadour's  amatory  vocabulary.  She  replies  with 
promptitude  and  decision,  addressing  him  as  '  Jujar', 
that  is,  'juglar'  or  'jongleur' — not  much  better  than 
mountebank— and  rejecting  his  advances  in  the  most 
1  V.  E.  I.  xv. 


PREFACE  ix 

uncompromising  fashion.  '  Provencal  of  ill  fame,  dirty, 
stunted,  bald  ;  my  husband  is  a  better-looking  man 
than  you ;  go  thy  way  betimes,  brother,  a  better 
man'.  As  he  becomes  more  urgent,  she  becomes 
more  contemptuous.  She  does  not  value  his  Pro- 
vencal at  a  farthing;  she  understands  him  no  better 
than  a  German,  a  Sard,  or  a  man  of  Barbary ;  if  her 
husband  comes  to  know,  he  will  have  an  awkward 
case  to  argue  with  him;  the  best  thing  he  can  do  is 
to  get  a  horse  and  be  off.  As  a  bit  of  broad  farce 
the  little  piece  is  by  no  means  a  bad  specimen  of 
mediaeval  humour,  employed  for  once  on  the  side  of 
good  morals.  But  its  interest  for  our  purpose  lies  in 
the  fact  that,  while  the  wooer  speaks  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, the  lady  replies  in  what  is  obviously  meant  to 
be  Italian.  The  language  she  uses  is  full  of  Provencal 
words,  and  needs  a  Provencal  dictionary  to  make  it 
out ;  but  there  are  many  forms  that  can  only  be 
Italian. 

But,  while  the  Italian  language  was  thus  slow  in 
coming  to  its  own  in  the  northern  parts  of  its  own 
domain,  a  true  vernacular  literature  was  growing  up 
elsewhere.  The  process  can  hardly  be  better  described 
than  in  Dante's  own  words.  In  his  search  after  a 
vernacular  fit  to  be  the  vehicle  of  high  thoughts  and 
noble  emotions  he  has  passed  in  review  most  of  the 
local  dialects  of  Italy,  and  rejected  them  all,  some  with 
contumely,  on  account  of  the  uncouth  forms  and 
phrases  which  all  at  times  admit.  After  a  preliminary 
sifting — it  is  his  own  term — in  which  he  has  eliminated 
Rome,  the  March  of  Ancona,  Spoleto,  Milan,  Bergamo, 
and  one  or  two  more,  he  proceeds  : — 


x  PREFACE 

Next  let  us  see  what  is  to  be  thought  of  Sicilian  ; 
for  the  Sicilian  vernacular  seems  to  claim  a  reputation 
above  the  others,  for  the  reason  that  all  the  poetry 
written  by  Italians  is  called  Sicilian,  and  we  find  that 
many  of  its  native  professors  have  sung  in  a  dignified 
style,  as  in  the  Odes  Ancor  eke  Vaigua per  lo  foco  lassi 
and  Amor  che  lungiamente  m  hat  menato.  But  this 
fame  of  the  Trinacrian  land,  if  we  look  at  the  mark 
whereunto  it  tends,  seems  to  have  survived  only  to  be  a 
reproach  to  the  princes  of  Italy,  who  follow  after  pride 
not  in  heroic  but  in  plebeian  fashion  ;  as  surely  as 
those  illustrious  heroes,  Frederick  the  emperor  and 
Manfred  his  well-born  son,  displaying  the  nobleness 
and  righteousness  of  their  souls,  so  long  as  their  fortune 
endured,  followed  after  things  befitting  men  {humana), 
disdaining  the  ways  of  brute  beasts.  Wherefore,  being 
noble  in  heart  and  endowed  with  graces,  they  strove  to 
cleave  to  the  majesty  of  the  princes  that  they  were  ; 
and  so  whatever  efforts  were  achieved  by  the  most 
eminent  Latins  in  their  time  first  appeared  at  the 
Courts  of  those  great  wearers  of  the  crown.  And 
because  Sicily  was  the  place  of  their  royal  throne  it 
came  to  pass  that  all  the  vernacular  work  of  those  who 
went  before  us  was  called  Sicilian  ;  a  name  which  we 
still  retain,  nor  will  our  posterity  be  able  to  change  it. 

Then,  as  if  the  mere  mention  of  the  bygone  glories 
had  stirred  his  soul  past  endurance,  he  bursts  out  with 
that  often-quoted  invective  against  the  degenerate 
princes  of  his  own  day, — which,  though  it  is  not  in  the 
Commedia,  must  have  been  in  Villani's  mind  when  he 
charged  the  poet  with  garrire  e  sclamare : — 

Rae/ia,  racha !  What  sounds  come  now  from  the 
trumpet  of  the  latest  Frederick,  or  from  the  tinkling 
bell  of  the  second  Charles,  or  from  the  horns  of  John 
and  Azzo,  those  puissant  marquises,  or  the  fifes  of  the 


PREFACE  xi 

other  grandees  ?     What  but,  '  Come  hangmen,  come 
swindlers,  come  ye  that  follow  after  avarice! ' 

The  fire  soon  dies  down,  and  he  continues  :  '  But  it 
is  better  to  get  back  to  our  subject  than  to  talk  to  no 
purpose.'  He  then  proceeds  to  consider  whether, 
after  all,  the  ordinary  speech  of  Sicily  may  not  furnish 
what  he  wants.  A  line  from  a  vernacular  poem  (to 
which  reference  will  have  to  be  made  again)  settles 
that  question  in  the  negative.  We  may  leave  him  to 
put  Tuscan,  Romagnole,  and  other  dialects  through 
his  sieve,  and,  in  his  own  words,  '  foot  it  back  to  our 
subject.' 

It  was,  then,  in  the  brilliant  Court  of  Frederick  II, 
'  Wonder  of  the  world  and  amazing  revolutionist,'  that 
Italian  poetry  really  sprang  into  life.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary here  to  go  into  the  details  of  Frederick's  career, 
though  for  students  of  Dante  they  are  of  profound 
importance.  No  one  who  has  read  it  will  forget  the  one 
tremendous  line  in  which  Farinata,  rising  up  out  of  his 
fiery  sepulchre,  acquaints  Dante  with  the  Emperor's 
doom  ;  or  the  Lombard  nobleman's  attribution  of  the 
disorders  in  his  own  country,  with  the  consequent 
decay  of  courtesy  and  goodness,  to  the  opposition 
which  the  Church  had  offered  to  him  ;  or  half  a  dozen 
other  passages,  from  which  we  may  learn  how  deeply 
Dante's  imagination  had  been  impressed  by  the 
splendid  figure  in  whom  the  mediaeval  series  of  Em- 
perors, one  might  almost  say  the  Middle  Age  itself, 
culminated  and  practically  ended. 

Frederick's  reign  as  Emperor — he  was  born  King  of 
Sicily — may  be  dated  either  from  his  election  in  121 2 


xii  PREFACE 

or  from  his  final  coronation  at  Rome  by  Honorius  III 
in  1 220.  It  lasted  till  1250  ;  and  during  the  whole  of 
it,  save  for  occasional  absences  in  Germany  or  in  the 
East,  the  Empire  may  be  said  to  have  been  governed 
from  Italy.  The  Emperor  held  Courts,  Councils, 
Diets,  in  one  city  or  another,  from  Palermo  to  Friuli. 
Learned  men  of  all  kinds,  and  from  all  nations,  were 
welcome  ;  lawyers  and  statesmen  were  of  more  account 
than  feudal  nobles.  Many  of  the  fugitive  troubadours 
found  their  way  thither,  and  brought  with  them  the 
fashion  of  verse-making  into  Tuscany,  Apulia,  and 
Sicily,  as  they  had  already  brought  it  into  Lombardy. 
There  was  this  difference,  however :  that,  whereas  in 
the  North,  where  Provencal  and  other  foreign  tongues 
were  more  frequently  heard,  men  were  content  to 
borrow  the  language  as  well  as  the  methods  of  their 
teachers,  in  the  South,  Italian  asserted  itself  from  the 
first.  Frederick  himself  wrote  love-songs — a  little  con- 
ventional, it  must  be  owned  ;  his  great  minister,  Peter 
de  Vineis,  was  one  of  the  earliest  exponents  of  the 
sonnet,  if  he  be  not  indeed  the  actual  inventor  of  that 
metrical  form  as  it  ultimately  became  fixed,  with  its 
two  quatrains  and  two  tercets.  The  names  which*  we 
find  attached  in  the  MSS.  to  the  earliest  extant  pieces 
are  all,  or  nearly  all,  those  of  southerners — Mazzeo  di 
Rico  and  Stefano  di  Pronto  of  Messina,  Ranieri  and 
Ruggierone  of  Palermo,  two  or  three  of  the  Counts  of 
Aquino,  Jacopo  of  Lentino,  Ruggieri  and  Giacomo  of 
Apulia.  Of  course  many  of  the  ascriptions  are  uncer- 
tain enough,  the  very  names  in  some  cases  taking 
different  forms  in  different  MSS.  Even  if  we  could  be 
sure  of  them,  we  know  in  most  cases  nothing  further 


PREFACE  xiii 

about  the  persons.  One  or  two  we  may  perhaps 
identify  with  men  of  whom  other  records  exist. 
Ruggieri  d'Amici,  of  whom  a  couple  of  pieces  survive, 
was  probably  the  Captain  of  Sicily  who  went  on  an 
embassy  from  Frederick  to  the  Sultan  of  Egypt  in 
1240.  Rinaldo  and  Jacopo  of  Aquino  were  doubtless 
members  of  the  House  from  which  sprang  the  Angelic 
Doctor,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas.  They  may  even  have 
been  his  elder  brothers.  The  reality  of  some  is 
vouched  by  Dante's  references  to  them,  and  we  have 
the  same  evidence  for  the  correctness  of  the  ascription 
of  a  few  poems.  Thus  he  names  a  '  Judex  de  Columnis 
de  Messana  ',  who  is  plausibly  identified  with  '  Judex 
Guido  de  Columna'  of  Messina,  the  author  in  1287  of 
a  history  of  the  destruction  of  Troy,  which  had  an 
immense  popularity  down  to  i5°°j  or  even  later,  to 
judge  by  the  number  of  MSS.  and  editions  of  it  in 
existence.  To  him  Dante  assigns  the  poem  Amor  che 
lungiamente,  given  in  the  passage  just  quoted  as  an 
example  of  the  Sicilian  school.  Altogether,  in  the  De 
Vulgari  Eloquentia  and  in  the  Commedia,  Dante  men- 
tions by  name  some  seven  or  eight  poets,  his  prede- 
cessors ;  occasionally  with  a  few  words  of  acute  criti- 
cism— the  first  that  had  been  heard  for  many  centuries. 
It  is  only  necessary  here  to  refer  to  the  great  passage, 
Purgatory  xxiv.  52-60,  wherein,  one  may  almost  say, 
is  contained  as  in  a  nutshell  the  substance  of  all  that 
future  ages  were  to  debate  so  keenly  of  the  classic  and 
the  romantic  in  poetry.1  For  it  must  be  remembered 
that,  rude  and  rough-hewn  as  much  of  their  perform- 
ance appears  to  us,  these  pioneers  of  Italian  poetry 

1  See  Gaspary,  Scuola  Poetica  Siciliana,  pp.  1 78-9. 


xiv  PREFACE 

followed  the  best  poetic  tradition  of  their  age  and 
adhered  to  its  accepted  conceits  and  conventions. 
Dante  used  their  language  and  many  of  the  phrases 
to  which  they  had  given  currency ;  but  their  true 
spiritual  heir  was  Petrarch,  and  through  him  the 
great  Petrarchizing  school  of  the  cinquecento.  Even 
in  the  English  lyric  verse  of  the  seventeenth  century 
their  influence,  passed  down  through  who  knows  what 
long  obliterated  conduits,  seems  now  and  again  dis- 
tinctly traceable. 

Nevertheless,  their  interest  to  the  student  of  Dante 
is  very  considerable.  Of  many  of  their  characteristics, 
their  allegorizing,  their  use  of  metaphor  and  imagery, 
and  the  like,  we  detect  the  influence  upon  him  at  every 
step.  The  wonderful  thing  is  how  he  made  conven- 
tions spontaneous,  and  restored  its  original  lustre  to 
many  a  well-worn  ornament.  Take,  for  example,  the 
much  and  rightly  praised  image  in  Paradise  xx.  73-75 
of  the  lark  which  soars  aloft  singing,  till,  sated  with 
the  sweetness  of  its  own  song,  it  becomes  silent.  This 
beautiful  conception  is  Dante's  own ;  but  Bondie 
Dietaiuti  before  him  had  borrowed  from  Bernard  de 
Ventadour  and  inserted  into  a  poem  of  his  own  the 
image  of  a  bird  flying  upwards  with  eyes  fixed  on  the 
sun,  till  it  is  forced  to  drop  to  earth 

per  lo  dolzore  ch'  a  lo  cor  le  viene, 

or,  as  the  Provencal  has  it, 

per  la  doussor  qu'al  cor  li  vai. 

Dante's  image  is  unquestionably  the  more  beautiful ; 
but  one  can  hardly  doubt  that  his '  ultima  dolcezza  che 
la  sazia  '  is  an  echo  of  his  predecessors. 


PREFACE  xv 

One  may  even  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  Beatrice  her- 
self is  the  donna  of  the  troubadours  and  their  Italian 
imitators,  in  a  sublimated  form.  Dante's  attitude  to- 
wards her,  the  love  without  expectation,  or  it  would 
seem  desire,  of  requital,  finds  its  prototype  in  many  of 
the  older  writers.  The  merely  sensual  aspect  of  love, 
which  holds  so  prominent  a  place  in  the  troubadours' 
conception  of  that  passion,  is  far  less  conspicuous — 
though  of  course  instances  of  it  are  not  lacking — in 
the  poetry  of  their  Italian  followers,  or  so  much  of 
it  as  has  come  down  to  us.  To  be  allowed  to  serve 
Madonna  is  all  the  reward  that '  fino  amore  '  demands ; 
'  guiderdone  e  lo  servizio '  says  Bonagiunta,  possibly 
in  tacit  reproof  of  the  Notary's  more  ambitious 

Guiderdone  aspetto  avire 
di  voi,  donna,  cui  servire 
non  m'e  noia. 

The  Notary  himself,  in  his  most  famous  sonnet,  '  lo 
m'  aggio  posto  in  core  a  Dio  servire '  (which  Rossetti 
has  translated),  in  which  the  presence  of  his  lady  in 
Paradise  is  represented  as  the  lover's  chief  motive  for 
serving  God,  seems  to  provide  the  germ  which  was,  in 
the  greater  poet's  hands,  to  attain  so  magnificent  a 
development.  If  indeed  the  little  poem  beginning 
'  Poiche  saziar  non  posso  gli  occhi  miei '  (Ballata  X) 
be  correctly  assigned  to  Dante,  he  must  himself  in  his 
younger  days  have  essayed  a  variation  on  the  same 
theme  ;  just  as  in  t^e  sonnet '  Negli  occhi  porta  la  mia 
donna  amore '  he  has  uttered  with  a  new  richness  and 
tenderness  the  commonplace  which  Bonagiunta  and 
others  had  adopted  from  their  Provencal  models,  of 
the  power  of  the  lady's  presence  to  purge  the  thoughts 


xvi  PREFACE 

of  the  beholders  from  all  sin  and  baseness.  The  Vita 
Nuova,  in  fact,  shows  the  influence  of  the  dugeutisti 
from  end  to  end,  as  might,  perhaps,  have  been  ex- 
pected. But  there  is  abundant  evidence  in  the 
Commedia  that  the  influence  was  upon  him  to  the 
last.  One  instance  may  suffice.  When  Beatrice 
first  appears  to  Dante's  view,  after  the  '  ten  years' 
thirst',  describing  the  effect  on  himself,  he  begins 
{Purgatory  xxx.  34-36) : — 

E  lo  spirito  mio,  che  gia  cotanto 
tempo  era  stato  che  alia  sua  presenza 
non  era  di  stupor  tremando  affranto. 

Here  we  have,  touched  no  doubt  with  the  '  grand 
style',  but  quite  recognizable,  one  of  the  common- 
places of  the  '  Sicilian '  school ;  and  the  kinship  is 
marked  by  the  use  of  the  word  affranto — a  Provencal 
word  introduced  by,  and  familiar  enough  in,  the  older 
poets,  though  Dante  himself  uses  it  only  once  elsewhere. 
The  word  was  rapidly  becoming  obsolete,  and  before 
the  end  of  the  century  we  find  Benvenuto  of  Imola, 
perhaps  the  most  intelligent  of  the  older  commen- 
tators, misunderstanding  its  meaning.  Many  other 
words  and  forms,  familiar  enough  in  the  earlier  poetry, 
had  dropped  out  of  use  altogether  by  the  time  Dante 
began  to  write.  But  enough  has  been  said  to  show  the 
importance  to  the  Dante  student  of  an  acquaintance 
with  these  earlier  singers. 

In  Italy  the  fame  of  these  pioneers  was  at  first  ob- 
scured by  the  greater  lights  of  the  Trecento — Cino  of 
Pistoia,  Petrarch,  Boccaccio — and  totally  eclipsed  with 
the  general  eclipse  of  Italian  letters,  which  followed  the 


PREFACE  xvii 

revival  of  classical  study.  Even  the  few  who  still  cul- 
tivated vernacular  poetry,  such  as  Giusto  de'  Conti, 
show  no  trace  of  their  influence.  Boccaccio  indeed 
introduces  into  one  of  his  stories  {Dec.  Day  X,  Nov.  7) 
a  short  canzone,  which  he  attributes  to  one  Mico  of 
Siena,  a  poet  not  otherwise  known  (unless  he  be  iden- 
tical with  Mino  da  Colle).  But  the  style  of  the  little 
poem  is  hardly  '  convincing ',  and  some  of  the  forms 
occurring  in  it  are  still  less  so ;  so  that  Tiraboschi  is 
probably  right  in  conjecturing  that  it  is  the  offspring 
of  Messer  Giovanni's  own  muse.  Boccaccio's  younger 
contemporary  and  pupil,  Benvenuto  of  Imola,  in  his 
commentary  on  the  Commedia,  shows  some  knowledge 
of  at  least  the  history  of  the  four  or  five  of  the  earlier 
poets  whose  names  occur  in  the  poem ;  but  from  the 
fact  that  he  specially  mentions  having  seen  the  works 
of  Guittone — '  cuius  librum  ego  vidi ' — it  may  be  in- 
ferred that  his  acquaintance  with  the  others  did  not 
extend  to  their  writings. 

From  this  time  onward  no  notice  seems  to  have 
been  taken  of  the  early  poets  until  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury was  far  advanced.  In  1465  Lorenzo  de'  Medici 
fell  in  at  Pisa  with  Frederick,  son  of  Ferdinand,  king 
of  Naples,  by  whom  he  was  requested  to  indicate  to 
him  some  Italian  poetry  worth  reading.  Lorenzo, 
a  true  poet  himself,  and  evidently  possessed  of  a  taste 
very  unusual  in  that  age  of  reviving  Petrarchism, 
'  willingly,'  says  Roscoe,  following  Tiraboschi,  { com- 
plied with  his  request ;  and  shortly  afterwards  selected 
a  small  volume,  at  the  close  of  which  he  added  some 
of  his  own  sonnets  and  canzoni.'  Lorenzo's  selection, 
though  Apostolo  Zeno  in  the  eighteenth  century  pro- 


xviii  PREFACE 

fessed  to  have  seen  it,  seems  now  to  have  disappeared ! ; 
but  the  letter  which  accompanied  it  is  fortunately 
preserved,  and  some  sentences  in  it  seem  of  sufficient 
interest  to  be  quoted  : 

Fu  1'  uso  della  rima,  secondo  che  in  una  sua  latina 
epistola  scrisse  il  Petrarca,  ancora  appresso  gli  antichi 
Romani  assai  celebrato.  II  quale  per  molto  tempo  inter- 
messo  comincio  nella  Sicilia  non  molti  secoli  avanti 
a  rifiorire ;  e  di  qui  per  la  Francia  sparto,  finalmente 
in  Italia,  quasi  in  un  suo  ostello,  e  pervenuto.  II  primo 
adunque  dei  nostri  (che)  a  ritrarne  la  vaga  immagine 
del  novello  stilo  pose  la  mano  fu  1'  Aretino  Guittone ; 
ed  in  quella  medesima  eta  il  famoso  bolognese  Guido 
Guinizello  .  .  .  quel  primo  alquanto  ruvido  e  severo, 
. . .  1'  altro  tanto  di  lui  piu  lucido,  piu  soave,  e  piu  ornato. 
. . .  Riluce  drieto  a  costoro  il  clilicato  Guido  Cavalcante 
fiorentino,sottilissimo  dialettico,  e  filosofo  del  suo  secolo 
prestantissimo. . . .  Ne  si  deve  il  lucchese  Bonagiunta  ed 
il  Notaro  da  Lentino  con  silenzio  trapassare ;  1'  uno 
e  1'  altro  grave  e  sentenzioso,  ma  in  modo  d'  ogni 
fior  di  leggiadria  spogliati,  che  contenti  dovrebbero 
restare  se  fra  questa  bella  manata  di  si  onorati  uomini 
li  riceviamo.  E  costoro  e  Piero  delle  Vigne  nella  eta  di 
Guittone  furono  celebrati.  ...  II  bolognese  Onesto  e  li 
siciliani  che  gia  primi  furono,  come  di  questi  dui  (i.  e. 
Dante  and  Petrarch)  sono  piu  antichi,  cosi  della  loro 
lima  piu  arebbono  mestiero.  .  .  .  Assai  bene  alia  sua 
nominanza  risponde  Cino  da  Pistoia,  tutto  dilicato 
e  veramente  amoroso ;  il  quale  primo,  al  mio  parere, 
cominci6 1'  antico  rozzore  in  tutto  a  schifare ;  dal  quale 
ne  il  divino  Dante,  per  altro  mirabilissimo,  si  e  potuto 
per  ogni  parte  schermire. 

1  In  a  letter  of  May  1742,  to  Jacopo  Facciolati  (whose  name  we  now 
associate  with  a  Latin  Lexicon),  he  speaks  of  the  MS.  as  being  then  in 
Facciolati's  possession  ;  and  mentions  that  the  last  componimenlo  in 
it  is  one  by  the  Notary. 


PREFACE  xix 

Lorenzo  is,  it  will  be  seen,  a  little  vague  in  his 
chronology — though  not  more  so  than  all  students  of 
early  Italian  poetry  till  well  past  the  middle  of  the  last 
century ;  but  he  had  evidently,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, read  and  judged  for  himself.  It  is  noticeable 
that  he  differs  from  Dante  in  putting  Guittone  among 
the  originators  of  the  •  new  style  '  rather  than  with  the 
Notary  and  Bonagiunta,  as  representing  the  old  con- 
ventional methods.  That  he  was  acquainted  with 
more  than  the  names  can  hardly  be  doubted.  Some 
of  the  names  he  might  indeed  have  got  from  the 
Commedia,  but  not  all.  Onesto  of  Bologna  is  not 
mentioned  in  it,  nor  does  Piero  delle  Vigne  appear 
as  a  poet.  Onesto  is  named,  and  a  line  of  a  poem  by 
him  (now,  it  would  appear,  lost)  is  quoted  in  V.E. 
I.  xv ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  Lorenzo  can 
ever  have  seen  that  treatise.  So  we  may  safely  credit 
him  with  having  gone  to  the  original  MSS. :  indeed 
with  being  the  first  to  restore  to  Italy  the  memory 
of  the  origins  of  its  own  vernacular  poetry,  which 
Humanism  had  for  nearly  three  generations  allowed 
to  fall  into  oblivion. 

Attention  having  thus  been  recalled  to  the  early 
poets,  they  were  not,  at  any  rate  for  some  time,  wholly 
lost  sight  of.  Doubtless,  when  lyrical  poetry  revived 
in  Italy  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  its 
exponents  drew  their  inspiration  rather  from  Petrarch 
than  from  his  predecessors ;  yet  they  cannot  have  been 
wholly  unacquainted  with  these.  The  great  Pietro 
Bembo,  perhaps  the  most  accomplished  man  of  letters 
of  his  day,  and  for  more  than  the  last  third  of  his  long 
life  ( 1 470-1547)  the  unquestioned  arbiter  in   literary 

ba 


xx  PREFACE 

matters,  albeit  to  him  as  much  as  to  any  man  the 
Petrarchizing  fashion  was  due,  knew  them  well.  He 
is  believed  to  have  possessed  a  manuscript  collection  of 
their  writings,  and  in  his  famous  treatise  on  the  ver- 
nacular tongue,  known  as  Le  Prose,  he  not  only  names 
a  large  number  of  them,  but  quotes  from  several  in 
illustration  of  various  points.  It  is  possible  that,  as 
Trissino  seems  to  suggest,1  Bembo's  interest  in  these 
matters  may  have  been  stimulated  by  his  friendship 
with  Giuliano,  the  son  of  Lorenzo,  called,  like  his 
father,  II  Magnifico,  the  future  Duke  of  Nemours, 
known  to  all  readers  of  the  Cortegiano  and  all  visitors 
to  the  Chapel  of  San  Lorenzo  in  Florence ;  who  is 
moreover  one  of  the  interlocutors  in  the  Prose,  the 
principal  one,  indeed,  in  the  third  book,  where  most 
of  the  quotations  from  the  older  poets  occur.  How 
much  these  poets,  whom  Bembo,  following  Dante, 
calls  •  Sicilians ',  owed  to  the  Provencals,  he  does  not 
attempt  to  conceal.  '  Gl'  Italiani  uomini,'  says  one  of 
the  speakers,  '  apparata  hanno  questa  arte  piu  tosto  che 
ritrovata.'  The  words  are  indeed  put  into  the  mouth 
of  Ercole  Strozzi,  the  Ferrarese  poet,  whom  the  others 
are  trying  to  convert  from  a  belief  in  the  superiority 
of  Latin  to  Italian  as  a  vehicle  for  poetry ;  but  they 
do  not  attempt  to  controvert  them.  In  fact  Federigo 
Fregoso  (also  known  to  readers  of  the  Cortegiano) 
rejoins  that  it  is  true,  though  he  himself  does  not 
think  much  of  these  older  poets,  and  believes  their 
reputation  to  be  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
practised  their  art  at  the  Sicilian  Court. 

1  See  the  Preface  of  Varchi  to  Cosimo  de'  Medici  in  the  edition  of 
17 14  (Venice). 


PREFACE  xxi 

The  Prose  first  appeared  in  1525  ;  but  the  work 
had  been  taking  shape  in  the  author's  mind  for  many 
years.  There  are,  however,  other  evidences  of  the 
interest  which  the  people  of  the  early  Cinquecento  felt 
in  regard  to  the  beginnings  of  their  literature.  In 
1527  appeared  a  little  book,  bearing  the  imprint  of  the 
house  of  Giunta  at  Florence,  entitled  Soneiti  e  Can- 
zoni  di  diver  si  antichi  Antori  Toscani  in  dieci  libri 
raccolte.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  are  eleven  books, 
while  the  table  of  contents  accounts  for  nine  only. 
The  first  four  contain  poems  by  Dante ;  the  fifth  and 
seventh  are  devoted  to  his  contemporaries,  Cino  of 
Pistoia  and  Dante  of  Maiano ;  the  sixth  and  eighth 
respectively  to  his  older  friend  Guido  Cavalcanti  and 
his  predecessor  Guittone  of  Arezzo  * ;  while  the  ninth 
contains  several  specimens  of  the  very  earliest  versi- 
fiers, including  the  Emperor  Frederick,  Pietro  delle 
Vigne,  and  the  Notary  of  Lentino.  The  preface, 
purporting  to  be  addressed  by  Bernardo  di  Giunta  to 
'  his  most  noble  youths,  lovers  of  Tuscan  rhymes ',  is 
interesting.  The  writer,  evidently  with  an  eye  on 
Le  Prose,  seeks  to  correct  what  he  considers  the 
exaggerated  estimate  of  Petrarch  ascribed  in  the 
dialogue  by  one  speaker  to  Pietro  Bembo.  '  Can  we 
believe,'  he  says, '  that  if  Petrarch  had  not  found  these 
men  before  him  he  would  have  been  able  so  grace- 
fully to  set  forth  his  own  ?  Certainly  not '  — a  truly 
refreshing  judgement,  it  may  be  said,  to  meet  with 
in  that  age,  whether  Bernardo  di  Giunta  or  another 
were  its  author.    Trucchi,  not  the  most  trustworthy  of 

1  The    genuineness   of   the    sonnets   ascribed    in    this   volume    to 
Guittone  is  very  doubtful. 


xxii  PREFACE 

authorities,  states  the  selection  was  mainly  the  work 
of  Bardo  (?  Bernardo,  the  future  historian)  Segni  and 
Cosimo  Rucellai. 

Two  years  after  the  Sonctti  e  Canzoni  a  publica- 
tion of  some  importance  in  Italian  literature  made  its 
appearance.  That  Dante  had  composed  a  work  on 
the  Italian  vernacular  was  known  from  the  statements 
of  Villani  and  Boccaccio ;  but  hitherto  this  had 
existed  only  in  manuscript.  No  doubt  learned  men. 
interested  in  the  subject,  had  seen  it  in  this  form ; 
there  is  pretty  clear  evidence  in  the  Prose  that  Bembo 
had  read  it.  But  in  1529  Giangiorgio  Trissino,  a 
well-meaning,  if  somewhat  heavy-footed,  author,  critic, 
and  grammarian,  brought  out,  with  some  little  show 
of  mystification,  what  professed  to  be  (and  indeed  was, 
though  doubts  as  to  its  genuineness  were  expressed  at 
the  time,  and  were  not  entirely  extinct  two  centuries 
later1)  an  Italian  rendering  of  Dante's  work.  The 
treatise  in  its  original  Latin  did  not  see  the  light  for 
nearly  fifty  years  more,  when  it  was  edited  (1577)  by 
Jacopo  Corbinelli.2  We  shall  have  occasion  to  say  more 
of  him  presently.  Trissino  explains  his  apparent  eccen- 
tricity of  publishing  the  work  first  in  a  translation  by 
the  plea  that,  though  Dante  may  have  found  Latin 
a  better  means  of  making  it  known  outside  Italy  in  his 
day,  its  rude  style  would  make  it  less  intelligible  to  the 

1  See,  for  example,  the  remarks  assigned  to  Filippo  Strozzi,  who 
plays  the  part  of  advocatus  diaboli  in  Trissino's  dialogue  //  Castellano. 
Giovanni  Rucellai  the  '  Castellan '  has  little  trouble  in  upsetting 
them  ;  but  they  may  be  taken  to  represent  what  some  people  said. 
As  late  as  1699  wc  find  Apostolo  Zeno  assuring  a  friend  that  the 
Latin  is  as  certainly  Dante's  as  the  translation  is  Trissino's. 

2  Corbinelli's  MS.  with  his  annotations  is  preserved  at  Grenoble. 


PREFACE  xxiii 

present — he  would  doubtless  hint,  more  cultivated — 
age  ;  and  indeed  the  Latin  of  it,  though  vigorous  and 
alive,  has  not  the  Ciceronian  graces  which  Humanism 
had  taught  the  polite  world  to  expect.  But  we  may 
fairly  see  in  his  action  an  illustration  of  the  movement  in 
favour  of  the  vernacular  which  Bembo  had  championed. 

The  appearance  in  whatever  form  of  the  De  Vtilgari 
Eloqucntia  must  have  brought  the  older  poets,  some 
dozen  or  more  of  whom  are  quoted  or  mentioned  by 
Dante  in  the  course  of  it,  into  still  wider  notice  ; 
though  it  is  hard  to  find  any  trace  of  their  influence  in 
the  poetry  of  the  succeeding  generation.  Trissino  was 
himself,  however,  sufficiently  well  acquainted  with 
them,  and  in  his  Poetica  quotes  them  freely.  This 
treatise,  of  which  the  first  part  appeared  in  the  same 
year  as  the  De  Vtilgari  Eloquentia,  while  the  remain- 
der only  saw  the  light  nearly  forty  years  later,  is  of 
importance  in  Italian  literary  history.1  In  this  work 
the  author  quotes  a  good  many  of  the  early  poems, 
including  several  which  seem  to  have  been  lost,  or  to 
be  still  in  manuscript.  Among  them  is  one  attributed 
to  '  Re  Federigo  di  Sicilia ',  presumably  Frederick  of 
Aragon,  who  reigned  in  that  island  from  1296  to  1337, 
and  is  not  otherwise  known  as  a  versifier,  the  Re 
Federigo  or  Rex  Fridericus  of  the  manuscripts  being 
the  emperor. 

The  first  attempt  to  supplement  the  Giunta  collec- 
tion by  the  publication  of  some  more  of  the  treasures 
yet  unprinted  was  made  by  Jacopo  Corbinelli,  an 
Italian  scholar  living  at  Paris  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century  ;  probably  one  of  the  many  Italians 

1  See  Saintsbury,  History  of  Criticism,  vol.  ii,  pp.  39  sqq. 


xxiv  PREFACE 

drawn  thither  by  the  Florentine  queen  Catherine  de' 
Medici.  To  Corbinelli  we  owe,  as  has  been  said,  the 
first  publication  in  its  original  Latin  form  of  the  De 
Vulgari  Eloquentia  in  1577.  ^n  ]5^^  ne  na<^  Pre" 
pared  an  edition  of  the  Bella  Memo  of  Giusto  de'  Conti ; 
and  to  this  he  appended  what  he  calls  '  Raccolto  di 
Rime  antiche  (di)  diversi  Toscani,  oltre  a  quelle  de' 
X  libri '  (i.e.  the  Giunta).  It  has  a  dedication  to  Mon- 
signore  Vulcob,  doubtless  the  diplomatist  of  that  name, 
dated  June  10,  in  which  the  scholar  rather  pathetically 
writes  of  'questo  mese  di  maggio,  che  mi  sembra 
tuttauia  come  vna  vera  primauera  di  tutti  i  mali '.  It 
was  the  month  of  the  Barricades ;  the  king  had  been 
driven  by  the  League  from  his  capital ;  and  Corbinelli 
fears  that  his  collection  of  amatory  rimes  may  seem  to 
some  too  effeminate  for  '  questa  stagione  cosi  rubesta  e 
martiale '.  He  pleads,  however,  that  others  had  done 
the  like,  and  '  forse  che  non  sono  anco  tanto  contrari  i 
dolci  suoni  di  nostra  Venere  alii  strepiti  di  Marte,  che 
con  la  suaueloquentia  sua  non  potesse  chiederli  anchella 
Qualche  brene  riposo,  o  qualche  pace.'  Mars  was,  how- 
ever, too  much  for  Venus,  and  the  book  did  not  appear 
till  the  end  of  the  troubles,  in  1595.  Corbinelli's  taste 
seems  to  have  lain  rather  in  the  direction  of  the  poets 
of  the  '  stil  nuovo',  such  as  Guido  Guinizelli,  Onesto 
of  Bologna,  Cino  of  Pistoia,  and  others  yet  later ; 
but  he  admits  a  few  pieces  from  the  earlier  time  of 
Piero  delle  Vigne  or  the  Notary. 

No  further  attempt  to  do  anything  for  the  early  poets, 
who  doubtless  fell  in  the  seventeenth  century  under 
the  same  cloud  of  oblivion  as  almost  buried  Dante, 
was  made  for  seventy  years  ;  though  many  of  them, 


PREFACE  xxv 

including  Frederick  and  his  son  Enzo,  the  Notary, 
Guittone,  Guinizelli,  are  cited,  to  illustrate  words  and 
phrases,  in  the  Glossary  to  the  Roman  edition  of 
Francesco  da  Barberino's  Documenti  d  Amorc  (1640). 
In  1 661  Leone  Allacci,  librarian  of  the  Vatican,  brought 
out  Poeti  Antichi  raccolti  da'  Codici  manoscritti,  a.  col- 
lection, badly  printed  and  carelessly  edited,  of  poems  of 
all  dates  from  Piero  delle  Vigne  to  Burchiello.1  Its  chief 
importance  lies  in  the  fact  that  in  it  appeared  for  the 
first  time  in  a  somewhat  dilapidated  form  a  piece 
which  was  long  regarded  as  the  very  earliest  offspring 
of  the  Italian,  or  Sicilian,  muse,  the  Fresco,  rosa  aulen- 
tissima,  of  which  a  line  had  been  quoted  by  Dante  in 
the  V.  E.  More  will  have  to  be  said  of  this  hereafter ; 
it  is  sufficient  to  remark  here  that  Italian  critics  have 
contrived  to  shed  over  it  more  ink,  in  proportion  to 
its  bulk  and  intrinsic  value,  than  all  the  Homeric  and 
Shakespearian  commentators  have  done  over  their 
authors. 

At  about  the  time  when  Allacci  was  compiling  his 
selection,  his  contemporary,  Francesco  Redi,  poet  and 
physiologist,  was  also  paying  some  attention  to  these 
early  poets,  of  whom  he  seems  to  have  possessed 
sundry  manuscripts.  In  the  '  annotations '  to  his 
famous  '  dithyramb '  Bacco  in  Toscana,  in  which  he 
poured  out  his  stores  of  learning,  literary  and  philo- 
logical, he  cites  various  pieces  by  Pannuccio  del  Bene, 
Pucciandone  Martelli,  Guittone  of  Arezzo,  and  others, 
which  had  not  previously  been  printed.  Generally 
there  are  signs  that  at  this  time  Italian  men  of  letters 
were  again  beginning  to  remember  that  poets   had 

1  Third  edition  (1691). 


xxvi  PREFACE 

lived  before  Marino.  Redi  and  his  friend  Magalotti 
were  enthusiastic  admirers  of  Dante ;  the  latter  had 
even  planned  an  edition  of  the  Commedia.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  century,  as  we  have  seen,  Apostolo 
Zeno  (who  might  also  be  called  the  Bembo  of  his 
age)  was  interesting  himself  in  Lorenzo's  selection  of 
early  poetry,  and  in  the  De  Vulgari  Eloquentia. 
But  the  only  actual  attempt  at  the  publication  of  any 
of  the  older  poetry  seems  to  have  been  a  Raccolta 
delle  Rime  Antiche,  cited  by  Valeriani  in  his  Poeti 
del  Primo  Seeolo,  and  stated  by  him  to  have  been 
printed  at  Venice  in  1740.1  In  1753  Giannalberto 
Tumermani — the  name  has  a  very  Teutonic  ring— 
a  learned  publisher  of  Verona,  having  discovered  in 
the  library  of  S.  Giustina  at  Padua,  among  other 
books  of  Corbinelli's,  a  copy  of  the  Bella  Mano  with 
manuscript  annotations  by  him,  thought  it  worth 
while  to  republish  the  work  with  some  additions  of 
his  own.  Then  again  followed  a  period  of  oblivion. 
Owing  no  doubt  to  the  prevailing  '  classical '  ten- 
dencies in  literature,  the  founders  of  national  poetry 
were  during  the  rest  of  the  century  of  as  little  account 
in  Italy  as  elsewhere.  Academic  critics,  the  In- 
quisitors, as  they  have  been  well  styled,  of  letters, 
found  their  language  too  often  rude  and  uncouth,  as 
their  predecessors  had  done  before  them ;  but,  unlike 
some  at  least  of  their  predecessors,  they  failed  to  see 
that  passion  and  tenderness,  and  even  melody  when 

1  I  can  find  no  trace  of  this  selection  of  1740.  No  copy  seems  to 
exist  in  the  British  Museum.  Nor,  indeed,  is  Fiacchi  to  be  found 
there  ;  but  his  existence,  as  Mr.  Toynbee  tells  me,  is  vouched  for 
by  later  evidence  (Gamba,  4th  ed.,  no.  806;, 


PREFACE  xxvii 

the  rhythm  is  properly  understood,  may  exist  in 
company  with  forms  of  speech  no  longer  accepted  in 
polite  circles. 

With  the  growth  of  the  'romantic'  movement  the 
reaction  came.  The  term  '  mediaeval '  ceased  to  de- 
note something  that  persons  of  cultivation  might 
safely  neglect  in  art  and  literature.  As  has  been 
said,  the  study  of  Dante  made  great  progress  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century ;  and,  with 
him,  his  forerunners  became  again  worthy  of  con- 
sideration. The  Abate  Luigi  Fiacchi  appears  to 
have  led  the  way,  with  his  Scelta  di  Rime  Antic  he 
(Florence,  1812).  Valeriani  followed  in  18 16,  with 
the  work  already  mentioned,  containing  most,  or  all, 
of  the  pieces  that  had  already  appeared  in  print, 
together  with  many  others,  to  the  number  of  six 
hundred  or  so  in  all,  edited,  not  always  very  intelli- 
gently, from  various  MSS.1  A  year  later  the 
Marquis  of  Villarosa  brought  out  at  Palermo  four 
volumes  of  Rime  Antiche  Toscane,  containing,  or  pro- 
fessing to  contain,  all  the  pieces  up  to  that  time 
printed,  and  representing  the  works  of  nearly  a 
hundred  and  fifty  authors.  This  compilation,  like 
Valeriani's,  suffers  from  lack  of  scholarly  editing,  for 
which  the  times  were  perhaps  hardly  ripe.  It  is  also 
untrustworthy  in  its  ascription  of  poems  to  authors. 
It  has  short  biographies  of  the  authors,  mostly  taken 
from  Crescimbeni.  No  editor's  name  appears  on  the 
title  of  either  of  these  ;  nor  on  that  of  Valeriani's 
edition  of  Guittone  (1828). 

1  Trucchi  states  that  both  Valeriani  and  Villarosa  made  use  of  the 
Codex  of  Pier  del  Nero,  preserved  in  the  Riccardian  Library. 


xxviii  PREFACE 

The  first  modern  editor  to  resort  avowedly  to  the 
manuscripts  preserved  in  the  various  libraries  of  Italy 
was  Francesco  Trucchi,  '  fellow  of  various  Academies ' 
as  he  styles  himself  on  his  title.  Trucchi  unfortu- 
nately had  more  enthusiasm  for  his  subject  than 
critical  discernment.  He  accepts  without  question 
the  impossibly  early  dates  for  some  of  his  authors 
which  had  been  assigned  by  Crescimbeni  and  others. 
He  broaches  wild  theories  about  the  Vatican  MS. 
3793,  our  great  source  for  most  of  the  poems  earlier 
than  1300.  His  emendations  are  not  always  con- 
vincing. For  all  these  faults  subsequent  Italian 
critics  have  dealt  faithfully  enough  with  him.  Still  he 
deserves  gratitude  as  the  first  who  went  to  work  on 
the  right  lines ;  and  the  long  Preface  of  over  one 
hundred  pages,  to  the  anthology  of  poets  from  the 
beginnings  of  the  language  to  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, which  he  styles  Poesie  Italiane  inedite  di 
dugento  Aittori  (Prato,  1846),  is  stimulating  and 
interesting,  and  may  yet  be  read  with  profit  by 
students  of  Italian  verse. 

From  the  middle  of  the  last  century  to  the  present 
time  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  early  Italian  poets 
have  had  any  cause  to  complain  of  the  neglect  of 
their  countrymen  ;  of  those,  at  any  rate,  who  troubled 
themselves  about  literary  matters.  Salvini,  writing 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  had  called  attention 
to  the  duty  of  paying  reverence  to  c  our  fathers,  and  the 
authors  of  the  fair  tongue  which  does  us  honour ' ;  not 
to  mention  their  value  as  preserving  the  original  signifi- 
cations of  words,  'born  but  not  yet  formed.'  Following 
up   this   hint,  the  learned  Vincenzo  Nannucci   pub- 


PREFACE  xxix 

lished  in  1856  his  Mantmle  della  Letter  atur a  del Primo 
Secolo  della  Lingua  Ltaliana,  in  which  special  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  the  meaning  and  history  of  words. 
His  philology  is  of  course  somewhat  prescientific  ;  but 
hardly  more  so  than  much  that  may  be  found  in  many 
recent  and  highly  commended  editions  of  Dante. 
Nannucci  does  not  seem  to  have  troubled  himself 
much  over  the  text  of  the  pieces  which  he  gives,  but 
to  have  contented  himself  with  following  the  printed 
editions.  Before  long,  however,  scholars  began  to 
gird  themselves  to  this  task.  Periodicals  were  started 
in  which  students  could  impart  to  one  another  their 
theories  or  discoveries  ;  manuscripts  were  carefully 
collated  ;  and  efforts  made  to  get  the  text  of  various 
pieces  into  an  acceptable,  or  sometimes  an  intelligible, 
form.  A  great  step  was  made  by  the  publication  of 
the  Vatican  MS.  3793,  edited  with  apparatus  criticus 
and  notes,  by  Professors  D'Ancona  and  Comparetti 
(Bologna,  1875-88)  under  the  title  of  Antiche  Rime 
Volgari.  Professor  Monad's  Crestomazia  Ltaliana 
dei  Primi  Secoli  (Citta  di  Castello,  1889-97)  contains, 
besides  many  of  the  most  notable  of  the  pieces  in  the 
Vatican  MS.,  several  which  do  not  occur  in  it,  and 
collations  of  variants.  Unfortunately  only  the  text 
has  so  far  appeared,  and  it  seems  probable  that  the 
grammatical  notes  and  glossary  promised  on  the  title, 
which  all  students  would  have  welcomed,  will  now 
never  see  the  light.  A  good  many  of  the  early  poems 
have  found  a  place  in  recent  anthologies,  such  as 
Eugenia  Levi's  Lirica  ltaliana  Antica  (Florence, 
1905),  and  Giosue  Carducci's  Antica  Lirica  Ltaliana 
(Florence,  1907).  Quite  recently  the  Philological 
Society  of  Rome  has,  with  the  aid  of  Signori  Satta, 


xxx  PREFACE 

Egidi,  and  Festa,  produced  verbatim  et  literatim,  under 
the  title  of  //  Libro  de  Varie  Romanze  Volgarc  (cited 
in  this  volume  as  V.R.  V.\  the  text  of  the  Vatican 
MS.  3793  (Rome,  1902-6 :  index  and  preface  yet  to 
come).  From  this  it  is  possible  for  any  one  with  a  slight 
knowledge  of  palaeography  to  suggest  emendations 
(still  sorely  needed)  almost  as  well  as  from  the  original ; 
and  I  have  availed  myself  of  it  freely.1 

In  a  book  intended  for  English  readers  mention 
must  not  be  omitted  of  the  one  attempt  which  has 
hitherto  been  made  to  introduce  them  to  this  remark- 
able band  of  poets.  In  1 86 1  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti 
published,  under  the  title  of  The  Early  Italian  Poets 
from  Ciullo  D'Alcamo  to  Dante,  a  translation  into 
English  verse  of  a  number  of  the  best  specimens  of 
their  work,  accompanied  by  a  rendering  of  Dante's 
Vita  Nuova.  It  was  republished,  with  some  re- 
arrangement, in  1874,  under  the  new  title  of  Dante 
and  his  Circle.  In  both  forms  it  met  with  approval, 
especially  in  quarters  to  which  Rossetti's  influence 
directly  or  indirectly  penetrated  ;  but  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  it  did  little  or  nothing  towards  stimulating  any 
desire  in  this  country  to  make  closer  acquaintance 
with  the  writers  whom  Rossetti  was  trying  to  make 
known.  Perhaps  wisely — for  his  rendering,  though  it 
often  has  much  of  the  feeling  of  the  original,  is  often 
little  better  than  a  loose  paraphrase — he  did  not  print, 
except   for   the   first   lines,  the   Italian    text   of  the 

1  I  have  also  used  the  work  of  D'Ancona  and  Comparetti,  but  as 
my  text  has  always  been  based,  for  the  poems  existing  in  the  Vatican 
MS.,  on  the  Roman  edition,  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  record 
their  presence  in  the  Antiche  Rime.  Similarly  I  have  only  referred  to 
Valeriani,  Villarosa,  Trucchi,  &c,  for  pieces  not  in  that  MS.,  for  which 
their  edition  had  to  be  used. 


PREFACE  xxxi 

poems.  He  also  relies  for  dates  and  biographical 
details  somewhat  too  implicitly  on  the  uncritical 
statements  of  Trucchi  and  his  predecessors. 

In  spite  of  Rossetti's  effort  to  make  these  fore- 
fathers of  Italian  poetry  known,  it  is  certain  that  they 
have  received  very  little  recognition  in  this  country. 
In  the  days  when  Englishmen  paid  some  attention  to 
Italian  literature,  the  days  of  Roscoe,  Mathias,  and 
Hallam,  the  youth  of  Tennyson  and  of  Gladstone, 
the  days  when  people 

lay  and  read 
The  Tuscan  poets  on  the  lawn — 

the  '  stilo  rozzo  ed  inculto  '  view  still  held  sway.  Now 
that  this  mood  has,  as  it  would  seem,  passed  away  for 
the  time,  and  almost  too  much  interest  is  professed  in 
the  early  stages  of  certain  literatures,  Italian  literature 
of  all  periods  is  curiously  neglected.  People,  it  is 
true,  talk  a  good  deal  about  Dante,  and  valuable 
works  dealing  with  his  writings  appear  from  time  to 
time  in  England  ;  but  many  of  these  are  written  from 
other  than  the  literary  points  of  view,  while  the 
average  local  '  Dante  Society '  is  quite  content  to 
study  him  in  translations.  Publishers,  again,  seem  to 
find  a  market  for  books  dealing  with  Petrarch,  Ariosto, 
and  Tasso,  some  of  them  of  considerable  merit,  both 
for  research  and  for  scholarship ;  but  it  would  be 
interesting  to  know  how  many  readers  these  have 
sent  to  the  authors  themselves.  When  the  great 
names  of  the  so-called  classical  age  of  Italian  litera- 
ture are  thus  neglected,  how  can  it  be  expected  that 
much  care  will  be  taken  of  its  remote  origins,  of  these 
singers  the  greater  part  of  whom  are  little  more  than 
names,  sometimes  hardly  that?     Yet  it  may  safely 


xxxii  PREFACE 

be  said  that  no  one  who  wishes  fully  to  trace  out 
the  course  of  Italian  literature,  to  understand  the 
significance  of  the  change  in  it  brought  about  by  the 
genius  more  especially  of  Petrarch,  or,  in  other  words, 
the  gulf  which  divides  the  mediaeval  genius  from  that 
of  the  '  Renaissance ',  can  afford  to  pass  them  over. 
They,  with  Dante,  seem  to  represent  for  Italy  all  that 
it  has  ever  to  show  of  truly  poetical  poetry — the 
poetry  which  thrills  and  not  merely  delights.  We 
turn  away  from  Petrarch's  justly  praised  description 
of  the  dead  Laura, — '  Pallida  no,  ma  piu  che  neve 
bianca  ' — or  from  the  finest  sonnet  of  the  second  part, 
admiring  but  unmoved,  perhaps  with  an  uneasy  con- 
sciousness that  the  poet  had  one  thought  for  his 
departed  lady  and  two  for  the  cadence  and  diction  of 
his  line.  Who,  on  the  other  hand,  can  read  such 
pieces  as  the  '  Morte,  perche  '  of  Giacomino  Pugliese 
(No.  XIV  in  the  present  selection)  with  its  passionate 
reminiscence  of  ■  madonna's '  graces  and  perfections, 
modulated  away  to  the  tender  resignation  of  the 
closing  lines,  without  a  tremor  of  the  voice  ?  When 
did  Petrarch,  or  any  who  came  after  Petrarch,  render 
the  forlorn  lament  of  a  forsaken  damsel  with  the 
pathetic  truth  of  Rinaldo  of  Aquino  in  '  Giammai  non 
mi  conforto  '  (No.  XI)  ?  Even  in  the  point  of  form, 
these  early  experiments  in  versification  are  often  more 
interesting  than  the  more  polished  performances  of 
later  days,  tied  by  the  rules  which  the  Bembos  and 
Trissinos  laid  down  and  Academies  enforced  for  the 
better  furthering  of  the  poetic  art.  We  shall  look  in 
vain  through  all  the  work  of  the  Cinquecento  for  any- 
thing like  the  lilt,  with  its  suggestion  of  a  jovial 
swagger,  in  spite  of  sighs  and  sleepless  nights,  of  the 


PREFACE  xxxiii 

lyric  (No.  XVIII)  in  which  Jacopo  d'Aquino  bewails 
his  absence  from  his  lady.  Even  in  Fra  Guittone, 
the  overesteemed,  as  Dante  thought,  we  find  a 
certain  stately  seriousness,  both  of  thought  and  move- 
ment, which  goes  far  to  explain  the  high  estimate  of 
his  contemporaries,  and  makes  us  wonder  somewhat 
why  the  great  poet,  who  looked  on  life  from  so 
similar  a  point  of  view,  and  was  obviously  not  un- 
indebted to  him,  should  so  often  have  found  it  neces- 
sary to  hold  him  up  as  a  bad  example,  if  not  to  scorn. 

Of  course  these  men  are  full  of  '  common  form ',  of 
hyperbole,  of  well-worn  '  conceits '.  But  even  these 
were  fresh,  so  far  as  their  own  language  went ;  and  it 
may  be  questioned  whether  the  childlike  disposition 
to  adopt  these  time-honoured  commonplaces,  found 
practically  in  all  early  poetry,  is  not  more  consistent 
with  the  true  poetic  spirit  than  the  effort,  of  which 
we  find  examples  even  in  Petrarch,  and  enough  and 
to  spare  in  the  Petrarchists  of  a  later  date,  to  say 
something  as  it  has  never  been  said  before.1 

Upon  the  language  of  these  poems  a  good  deal  has 
been  written  by  Italian  scholars.     The  vocabulary,  as 

1  In  this  connexion  a  word  may  be  said  about  the  curious  piece 
entitled  Mare  Amoroso,  given  by  Monaci  in  his  Crestotnazia  ;  a  blank 
verse  poem  of  356  lines  consisting  of  a  string  of  all  the  quaint  similes, 
allusions  to  mythology  and  romance,  and  other  stock  ornaments  of 
the  older  school.  It  is  preserved,  and  that  in  a  very  corrupt  state, 
only  in  a  MS.  of  the  Riccardian  Library,  and  is  believed,  probably 
with  reason,  by  Gaspary  to  belong  to  the  fourteenth  century.  It  is 
a  sort  of '  cento  '  of  all  the  far-fetched  similes  and  conceits  dear  to 
the  early  lyrists,  and  looks  very  like  a  '  skit '  on  the  part  of  some 
early  'Humanist'  written  to  hold  up  to  derision  the  school  of 
poets  now  superseded.  If  this  view  be  correct,  it  is  interesting  as 
the  earliest  specimen  of  Italian  blank  verse. 

BUTLER  c 


xxxiv  PREFACE 

has  been  said,  owes  much  to  Provencal,  something 
also  to  French ;  but  owing  to  the  fact  that  these 
represent  practically  all,  or  nearly  all,  that  we  possess 
in  the  way  of  specimens  of  the  earliest  Italian,  it  is 
hard  to  say  how  many  of  these  words  were  already 
current,  and  how  many  consciously  imported  by  them. 
The  dialect  has  many  affinities  with  that  of  Sicily  and 
the  old  Sicilian  territories  in  the  Peninsula.  Con- 
spicuous instances  are  the  apparent  identity  of  sound 
between  e  and  t,  o  and  «,  allowing  a  licence  in  rhyme 
of  which  even  Dante  occasionally  avails  himself.  It 
is,  however,  impossible  to  be  certain  that  we  have  the 
language  in  its  original  form.  Scribes  would  natur- 
ally tend  to  modify  orthography  in  the  direction  of 
their  native  dialect ;  the  more  so  as  many  of  the 
poems  were  obviously  written  down  from  memory — 
in  some  cases,  it  would  seem,  by  notaries'  clerks  and 
suchlike  in  their  idle  moments.  The  grammar  again 
differs  often  from  that  now  usual ;  but  the  reader  who 
knows  his  Dante  will  not  find  much  difficulty  in  dis- 
entangling it.  Those  who  need  help  cannot  find  a 
better  guide  than  the  Altitalienisches  Elementarbucli 
by  Berthold  Wiese  (Heidelberg,  1904).  Unfortunately 
no  English  version  of  this  exists,  or,  in  the  present 
condition  of  Italian  study,  is  likely  soon  to  do  so. 

In  the  matter  of  textual  criticism,  and  annotation 
generally,  the  editor  has  striven  always  to  keep  before 
his  eyes  the  principles  so  admirably  expounded  by 
Johnson  in  his  '  Proposals '  and  '  Preface '  to  an  edition 
of  Shakespeare.  No  man  ever  has  improved  upon 
them ;  no  man,  so  long  as  textual  criticism  and  ex- 
planatory comment  are  demanded,  ever  will.  '  Con- 
jecture, though  it  be  sometimes  unavoidable,  I  have 


PREFACE  xxxv 

not  wantonly  nor  licentiously  indulged.  It  has  been 
my  settled  principle  that  the  reading  of  the  ancient 
books  is  probably  true'  (this  has  to  be  taken  with 
some  latitude  in  the  case  of  MSS.),  '  and  therefore  is 
not  to  be  disturbed  for  the  sake  of  elegance,  per- 
spicuity, or  mere  improvement  of  the  sense  .  .  .  But 
it  is  evident  that  they'  (and  still  more  their  later 
editors)  '  have  often  made  strange  mistakes  by  ignor- 
ance or  negligence,  and  that  therefore  something  may 
be  properly  attempted  by  criticism,  keeping  the 
middle  way  between  presumption  and  timidity.' 

The  present  selection  includes  only  poems  which 
are  known,  or  may  be  safely  assumed,  to  have  been 
written  before  1300.  This  of  course  excludes  some 
of  the  best  by  Cino  of  Pistoia,  the  only  one  of  the 
authors,  of  whom  examples  are  given,  who  is  known 
to  have  lived  into  the  next  century.  Further,  only 
Canzoni  have  been  included  ;  and  these  have  been 
selected  for  their  intrinsic  merits  either  of  thought  or 
rhythm,  or,  in  some  cases,  as  affording  examples  of 
the  special  peculiarities  of  the  school.  All  those 
cited  by  Dante  in  the  V.  E.,  so  far  as  they  are 
now  extant,  have  been  included.  The  Canzone,  as 
a  rule,  is  capable  of  finer  effects  than  the  sonnet, 
besides  admitting  of  much  greater  rhythmical  variety. 
Still,  the  sonnet,  as  the  undoubted  invention  of  the 
Italian  muse,  has  great  claims  on  the  attention  of 
students  of  Italian  ;  and  if  readers  of  this  little  selection 
care  for  a  companion  volume  of  that  form  of  verse 
the  present  editor,  si  vita  suppeditei,  may  one  day 

endeavour  to  supply  it. 

A.  J.  Butler. 

[May],  1908. 


NOTE 

Si  vita  suppeditet.  The  answer  to  these  words  has  been 
given,  and  this  book  lacks  the  author's  finishing  touches. 
The  notes  were  finished  on  February  14,  and  he  was  '  caught 
by  death',  to  use  his  own  expression,  on  February  26,  1910. 
The  proofs  have  had  to  be  corrected  by  other  hands. 


EARLY  LYRIC  POETS  OF 
ITALY 

PIERO  DELLE  VINGNE 


Amor,  da  cui  move  tuttora  ed  ene 
pregio,  e  larghezza,  e  tutta  benenanza, 
viene  nell'  uom  valente  ed  insengnato, 
che  nom  poria  divisare  lo  bene 
che  ne  nascie  ed  aviene  chi  a  leanza ; 
ond'  io  ne  sono  in  parte  tralasciato, 
ma  si  diro  come  ello  m'  a  locato 
ed  onorato  piu  ch'  altro  amadore 

per  poco  di  servire ; 

ca  s'  io  volglio  ver  dire 
di  tale  guisa  m'  ave  fatto  onore, 
ca  se  a  slocato,  e  miso  m'  a  'n  suo  stato. 

Istato  si  rico  ed  alto  non  fue  dato 
di  si  poco  servire,  al  mio  parvente ; 
ond'  io  mi  tengno  bene  avventuroso, 
e  veio  ben  c'  amor  m'  a  piu  norato 
intra  gli  altri  amadori  ciertamente, 
ond'  io  m'  allegro  e  vivo  piu  gioioso. 
Che  m'  a  donato  quella  c'  a.  per  uso 
bellezze  ed  adornezze  e  piacimento, 

e  aunor  e  conoscienza 

in  lei  senza  partenza 
fanno  sogiorno,  ed  a  le  al  suo  talento ; 
senno  la  guida  e  fin  presgio  amoroso. 

B 


PIERO  DELLE  VINGNE 

Presgio  ed  aunor  ad  essa  lei  davanza, 

ed  e  dismisurata  di  gran  guisa 

d'  avere  tutto  bene  in  provedenza; 

di  lei  c'  amor  m'  a  miso  in  sua  possanza 

la  conosciente  senza  lunga  attesa 

mi  meritao  della  sua  benvolglienza. 

C  assai  val  melglio  poco  di  ben,  senza 

briga  di  noia  e  d'  affanno  acquistato 

<ca  rico)  per  ragione, 

poiche  passa  stagione, 
e  dell'  om  rico  deve  esser  laudato; 
perb  i'  non  n'  6  fatto  penitenza. 

Penitenza  non  agio  fatta  neiente, 
al  mio  parvente  poco  agio  servito; 
ma  tuttavia  seraggio  servitore 
di  tutto  c'  amor  m'  a  fatto  gaudente 
dell'  avenente,  per  cui  vado  ardito ; 
piu  d'altro  amante  deo  aver  fin  core. 
E  non  vorrei  essere  lo  sengnore 
di  tutto  il  mondo,  per  aver  perdita 

di  sua  benvolglienza, 

c'  agio  senza  temenza, 
che  mi  mantene  in  amorosa  vita, 
si  che  'n  esta  contento  lo  mio  core. 

Lo  mio  core  tenesi  contento 
del  grande  abento  ove  amor  m'  a  miso ; 
mille  grazie  n'  aggia  ciascun'  ore, 
c'  agio  tutto  cib  che  m'  e  a  talento 
dair  amorosa  donna  al  chiaro  viso, 
che  mi  dono  comforto  con  valore. 
E'  non  si  poria  pensare  per  core 
com'  a  tutte  bellezze  a  compimento ; 


PIERO   DELLE  VINGNE 

dunqu'  eo  nom  —  o  fallo 
se  no  'nde  (piu  eo)  parlo; 
che  lingua  non  po  aver  in  parlamento 
di  dire  piu  che  il  cor  sia  pensatore. 


II 


(V.R.V.) 


Amore,  in  cui  disio  ed  6  speranza, 
di  voi,  bella,  m'  a  dato  guiderdone, 
guardomi  infin  che  vengna  la  speranza, 
pur  aspettando  buon  tempo  e  stagione; 
com'  uom  ch'  e  in  mare  ed  a  spene  di  gire. 
e  quando  vede  il  tempo,  ed  ello  spanna, 
e  giamai  la  speranza  non  lo  'nganna; 
cos'  io  faccio,  madonna,  in  voi  venire. 

Or  potess'  eo  venir  a  voi,  amorosa, 
com  lo  larone  ascoso,  e  non  paresse ; 
bello  mi  teria  in  gioia  aventurosa 
se  1'  amor  tanto  bene  mi  facesse. 
Si  bel  parlante,  donna,  con  voi  fora, 
e  direi  como  v'  amai  lungiamente, 
piii  ca  Piramo  Tisbia  dolzemente, 
ed  ameraggio  infin  ch'  io  vivo  ancora. 

Vostro  amor  e  che  mi  tiene  in  disiro 
e  donami  speranza  con  gran  gioia, 
ch'  io  non  euro  s'  io  dolglio  od  6  martiro 
membrando  1'  ora  ched  io  vengno  a  voi ; 
ca  s'  io  troppo  dimoro,  aulente  lena, 
par  ch'  io  pera,  e  voi  mi  perderete; 
adunque,  bella,  se  ben  mi  volete, 
guardate  che  non  mora  in  vostra  spena. 

In  vostra  spena  vivo,  donna  mia, 
e  lo  mio  core  adesso  a  voi  dimando, 

B  2 


PIERO    DELLE   VINGNE 

e  V  ora  tardi  mi  pare  che  sia 

che  fino  amore  a  vostro  cor  mi  mando ; 

e  guardo  tempo  che  (mi)  sia  a  piaci(mento) 

e  spanda  le  mie  vele  inver  voi,  rosa, 

e  prendo  porto  la  've  si  riposa 

lo  mio  core  al  vostro  insengnamento. 

Mia  canzonetta,  porta  esti  compianti 
a  quella  c'  a  'm  ballia  lo  mio  core, 
e  le  mie  pene  contale  davanti, 
e  dille  com'  io  moro  per  su'  amore; 
e  mandimi  per  suo  messagio  a  dire 
com'  io  comforti  l'amor  che  lei  porto, 
e  se  ver  lei  i'  feci  alcuno  torto, 
donimi  penitenza  al  suo  volire. 

(VR.V.     Mon.     Val.   Nan.) 


NOTARO  GIACOMO 

III 

Madonna,  dir  vi  voglio 
come  l'amor  m'  a  priso, 
inver  lo  grande  orgoglio 

che  voi  bella  mostrate,  e  non  m'  aita. 
01  lasso,  lo  meo  core, 
ch'  e  in  tanta  pena  miso 
che  vede  che  si  more 

per  ben  amare,  teneselo  in  vita. 
Or  dunque  morire'  eo? 
no,  ma  lo  core  meo 
more  spesso  e  piu  forte 

che  no  faria  di  morte  naturale ; 


NOTARO   GIACOMO 

per  voi,  donna,  cui  ama 
piu  che  se  stesso  brama, 
e  voi  pur  lo  sdegnate ; 
amor,  vostr'  amistate  vidi  male. 

Lo  meo  namoramento 

non  po  parire  in  detto ; 

cosi  com'  eo  lo  sento 
core  nol  penseria  ne  diria  lingua; 

Cib  ch'  eo  dico  e  neente, 

inver  ch'  eo  son  distretto ; 

tanto  coralemente 
foe'  aio,  che  non  credo  mai  si  stingua; 

anzi  se  pur  aluma ; 

perche  non  mi  consuma? 

la  salamandra  audivi 
che  nelo  foco  vivi,  stando  sana; 

cosi  fo  per  long'  uso, 

vivo  in  foco  amoruso 

e  non  saccio  che  dica; 
lo  meo  lavoro  spica,  e  non  mi  grana 

Madonna,  se  m'  avene 
ch'  eo  nom  posso  invenire 
com  eo  dicesse  bene 

la  propia  cosa  ch'  eo  sento  d'  amore ; 
sicom'  omo  improdito 
lo  cor  mi  fa  sentire 
che  giammai  non  e  chito 

fintanto  che  non  vene  a  suo  sentore ; 
lo  non  poter  mi  turba, 
com  om  che  pinge  e  sturba, 
e  pura  li  dispiace 

lo  pingere  che  face,  e  se  riprende, 


NOTARO  GIACOMO 

che  non  e  per  natura 
la  propia  pintura ; 
e  non  e  da  biasmare 
omo  che  cade  in  mare,  se  s'  apprende. 

Lo  vostro  amore  (che)  m'  ave 

in  mare  tempestoso 

cosi  como  la  nave, 
c'  a  la  fortuna  gitta  ogni  pesanti, 

e  campane  per  getto 

del  loco  periglioso, 

similemente  eo  getto 
a  voi,  bella,  li  miei  sospiri  e  pianti. 

E  s'  eo  no  gli  gittasse, 

paria  che  s'  afondasse ; 

e  bene  s'  afondara 
lo  cor,  tanto  gravara  il  suo  disio. 

Tanto  si  frangie  a  terra 

tempesta  che  s'  aterra, 

eo  cosi  mi  frango, 
quando  sospiro  e  piango,  posar  creio. 

Assai  mi  son  mostrato 

a  voi,  donna  spietata, 

com'  eo  son  inamorato ; 
ma  creio  che  spiaceria  a  voi  pinto. 

Poi  c'  a  me  lasso  solo 

cotal  ventura  e  data, 

perche  non  me  ne  lasso? 
non  posso  ;   di  tal  guisa  amor  m'  a  vinto. 

A  Deo !   c'  or  avenisse 

a  lo  meo  cor  c'  uscisse 

com'  e  'ncarnato  tutto, 
e  non  diciesse  motto  a  voi  sdengnosa. 


NOTARO   GIACOMO  7 

C  amor  a  tal  1'  adusse 
che  se  vipra  ivi  fusse 
natura  perderia ; 
a  tal  lo  vederia,  fora  pietosa. 

(V.R.V.     Giunta.    Mon.) 

IV 

Dolcie  coninciamento 
canto  per  la  piu  fina 
che  si'  al  mio  parimento 
d'Agri  ;nfin  a  Messina, 
cib  e  la  piu  avenente. 
'  O  Stella  riluciente 
che  levi  la  maitina, 
quando  m'  appar  davanti 
li  suoi  dolzi  sembianti 
m'  inciendon  la  corina.' 

—  '  Dolcie  meo  sir,  s'  incendi 
or  io  che  degio  fare? 
tu  stesso  mi  riprendi 
se  mi  vei  favellare ; 
ca  tu  m'  ai  inamorata, 
al  core  m'  ai  lanciata, 
si  ca  di  for  non  pari ; 
rimembriti  a  la  fiata 
quand'  io  t'  ebbi  abrazata 
a  li  dolzi  basciari.' 

Ed  io  basciando  stava 
in  gran  dilettamento 
con  quella  che  m'  amava, 
bionda,  viso  d'  argento. 
Presente  mi  contava 
e  non  mi  si  cielava 


NOTARO  GIACOMO 

tutto  suo  convenente ; 
e  disse :   f  i'  t'  ameragio 
e  non  ti  falleragio 
a  tutto  '1  mio  vivente. 

—  '  Al  mio  vivente,  amore, 
io  non  ti  falleragio 

per  lo  lusingatore 

che  parla  di  [tal]  fallagio.' 

—  'Ed  io  si  t'  ameragio ; 
per  quello  ch'  e  salvagio 
Dio  li  mandi  dolore, 
unqua  non  venga  a  magio ; 
tant'  e  di  mal  usagio 

che  di  stat'  a  gielore.' 

V 

M  aravigliosamente 
un  amor  mi  distringe, 
e  sovenemi  ogn'  ora ; 
com  omo  che  ten  mente 
in  altra  parte,  e  pinge 
la  simile  pintura; 
cosi,  bella,  face'  eo, 
dentro  alio  core  meo 
porto  la  tua  figura. 

In  cor  par  ch'  eo  vi  porte, 

pinta  como  voi  sete, 

e  non  pare  di  fore. 

O  Deo,  che  mi  par  forte ; 

che  non  so  se  savete 

com  io  v'  amo  a  bon  core 

ca  son  si  vergognoso 


V.R.V.     Mon ) 


NOTARO   GIACOMO 

ch'  eo  pur  vi  guardo  ascoso, 
e  non  vi  mostro  amore. 

Avendo  gran  disio 
dipinsi  una  pintura, 
bella,  a  voi  simigliante. 
E  quando  voi  non  vio 
guardo  in  quella  figura 
e  par  ch'  eo  v'  aggia  avante, 
si  com  om  che  si  crede 
salvarsi  per  sua  fede 
ancor  non  vea  inante. 

Al  cor  m'  arde  una  doglia 
com  om  che  tene  '1  foco 
a  lo  suo  seno  ascoso, 
che  quanto  piu  lo  'nvoglia 
allora  arde  piu  loco, 
e  non  pub  stare  incluso  ; 
similemente  io  ardo, 
quando  passo  e  non  guardo 
a  voi  viso  amoroso. 

Se  siete,  quando  passo, 
inver  voi  non  mi  giro, 
bella,  per  isguardare; 
andando  ad  ogni  passo 
gittone  uno  sospiro 
che  mi  facie  angosciare. 
E  certo  bene  angoscio 
c'  a  pena  mi  conoscio, 
tanto  bella  mi  pare. 

Assai  v'  aggio  laudato, 
Madonna,  in  tutte  parti, 


io  N0TAR0   GIACOMO 

di  bellezze  c'  avete. 
Non  so  se  v'  e  contato 
ch'  eo  lo  faccia  per  arti, 
che  voi  ve  ne  dolete. 
Sacciatelo  per  singa 
cib  che  vi  dirb  a  linga 
quando  voi  mi  vedete. 

Canzonetta  novella, 

va,  e  canta  nova  cosa ; 

levati  da  maitino 

davanti  a  la  piu  bella 

fiore  d'  ogni  amorosa, 

bionda  piu  ch'  auro  fino. 

Lo  vostro  amor,  ch'  e  caro, 

donatelo  al  notaro 

ch'  e  nato  da  Lentino. 

(V.R.V.     Mon.    Nan/, 


VI 

Ben  m'  e  venuta  prima  al  cor  doglienza, 
poi  benvoglienza,  d'orgolglio  me  rendente 
di  voi,  madonna,  incontro  a  mia  sofrenza; 
non  e  valenza  far  male  a  sofrente. 
Ma  si  e  potente  vostra  signoria' 
ch'  avendo  male,  piu  v'  amo  ogni  dia. 
Pero  tuttor  la  troppa  sicuranza 
ubria  conoscenza  ed  inoranza. 

E  dunque,  amor,  ben  fora  convenenza 
d'  aver  temenza,  como  1'  altra  gente 
che  tornano  di  lor  disconoscenza 
alia  credenza  di  lor  benvolente. 


NOTARO   GIACOMO  n 

Chi  e  temente  fugge  villania, 

e  per  coverta  tal  fa  cortesia 

che  non  voria  da  voi  bella  sembianza 

se  dal  core  non  vi  venisse  amanza. 

Ch'  io  non  faccio,  donna,  contendenza, 
ma  ubbidenza,  ed  amo  coralmente, 
perb  non  dev'  io  pianger  penitenza, 
che  nullo  senza  colpa  e  penitente; 
naturalmente  avvene  tuttavia, 
ch'  omo  s'  orgolglia  a  chi  lo  contraria, 
ma  vostro  orgolglio  passa  sorchietanza, 
che  si  smisura  contro  ad  umilianza. 

E  chi  per  torto  batte  e  fa  increscenza 

de'  ben  far  penitenza,  e  poi  si  pente ; 

perb  mi  pasco  di  bona  credenza 

c'  amor  coninza  prima  a  dar  tormente; 

dunque  saria  piu  giente  gioia  mia 

se  per  mi'  amor  1'  orgoglio  s'  umilia, 

e  la  ferezza  torna  a  pietanza; 

ben  lo  pub  far  amor  ch'  egli  e  su'  usanza. 

Voi  so  che  sete  senza  percepenza, 
como  Fiorenza  che  d'  orgoglio  sente. 
Guardate  a  Pisa  ch'  a  gran  conoscenza 
che  fugge  intenza  d'  orgogliosa  gente. 
Gia  lungamente  orgolglio  v'  a  'n  balia ; 
Melan  a  lo  carroccio  par  che  sia. 
Ma  se  si  tarda  1'  umile  speranza 

se  soffra  sgombra,  e  vince  ogni  tardanza. 

(V.R.V.) 


12 


JACOPO  MOSTACCI 

VII 

Umile  core  e  fino  e  amoroso, 
gia  fa  lunga  stagione  c'  6  portato 

buonamente  a  l'amore ; 
di  lei  avanzare  adesso  fui  pensoso 
oltre  podere  e  infin  ch'  era  affannato, 

nonde  sentia  dolore. 
Pertanto  non  di  lei  partia  coraggio 
ne  mancava  lo  fino  piacimento, 
mentre  non  vidi  in  ella  folle  usaggio 
lo  quale  avea  cangiato  lo  talento. 

Ben  m'  averia  per  servidore  avuto, 
se  non  (si)  fosse  di  fraude  adonata, 

perche  lo  gran  dolzore 
e  la  gran  gioia  ch'  e  stata,  i'  la  rifiuto; 
ormai  gioia  che  per  lei  mi  fosse  data 

non  m'  averia  savore. 
Perb  ne  parto  tutta  mia  speranza 
ch'  ella  parti  del  pregio  e  del  valore; 
che  mi  fa  uopo  aver  altr'  intendanza 
onde  acquisti  cib  che  perdei  d'  amore. 

Perb  se  'n  altra  intendo  e  d'  ella  parto 
non  le  sia  greve  e  non  le  sia  oltraggio, 

tant'  e  di  vano  affare; 
ma  ben  credo  saver  e  valer  tanto, 
poi  la  solglio  avanzare,  c'  a  dannaggio 

le  saveria  contare. 
Ma  non  mi  piace  adesso  quello  dire 
ch'  eo  ne  fusse  tenuto  misdicente ; 
ch'  assai  val  meglio  chi  si  sa  partire 
da  reo  signor  e  alungiar  buonamente. 


JACOPO   MOSTACCI  13 

Om  che  si  parte  a  lunga,  fa  savere 
di  loco  ove  possa  essere  affannato, 

e  tranne  suo  pensiero ; 
ed  io  ne  parto  e  traggone  volere 
e  dolglio  dello  tempo  trapassato, 

che  m'  e  stato  falliero. 
Ma  non  dotto,  c'  a  tale  signoria 
mi  son  donato ;   che  buon  guiderdone 
mi  donera,  per  cib  che  no  m'  oblia ; 
lo  ben  servente  merit'  a  stagione. 

(V.R.V.    lion.) 


VIII 

Amor  ben  veio  che  mi  fa  tenere 

manera  e  costumanza 
d'  augello,  c'  arditanza  lascia  stare 
quando  lo  verno  vede  sol  venire ; 

ben  mette  'n  ubrianza 
la  gioiosa  baldanza  di  svernare ; 
e  par  che  la  stagione  non  li  piaccia, 
•    che  la  freddura  inghiaccia  ; 

e  poi  per  primavera 

ricovera  manera, 
e  suo  cantare  innova  e  sua  ragione ; 
ed  ogni  cosa  vuole  sua  stagione. 

Amor,  lo  tempo  che  non  m'  era  a  grato, 

mi  tolse  lo  cantare ; 
credendo  migliorare  io  mi  ritenne. 
Or  canto,  che  mi  sento  migliorare, 

ca  per  bene  aspettare 
solazzo  ed  alegrare  e  gioi'  mi  venne 
per  la  piu  dolce  donna  ed  avenente 


14  JACOPO   MOSTACCI 

che  niai  amasse  amante, 

quella  ch'  e  di  beltate 

sovrana  e  in  veritate, 
che  ognunque  donna  passa  ed  ave  vinto, 
e  passa  perle,  smeraldo  e  giacinto. 

Madonna,  s'  io  son  dato  in  voi  laudare, 

non  vi  paia  lusinga ; 
c'  amor  tanto  mi  stringa  ch'  io  ci  falli ; 
ch'  io  1'  aggio  udito  dire  ed  acciertare, 

sovrana  e  vostra  insegna 
e  bene  siete  degna  senza  falli. 
E  consolomi  in  gran  buona  ventura 

s'  io  v'  amo  a  dismisura; 

e  s'  io  non  son  si  lico 

ben  me  ne  tengo  rico, 
assai  piu  ch'  io  non  so  dir  in  parole ; 
quegli  e  rico  c'  ave  cio  che  vuole. 

Donna  e  1'  amore  han  fatto  compagnia, 

e  teso  un  dolce  laccio 
per  mettere  in  sollaccio  lo  mio  stato ; 
e  voi  mi  siete  gen  til,  donna  mia, 

colonna  e  forte  braccio, 
per  cui  sicuro  giaccio  in  ogni  lato. 
Gioioso  e  baldo  canto  d'  allegranza, 

c'  amor  m'  e  scudo  e  lanza, 

e  spada  difendente 

da  ogni  maldicente, 
e  voj  mi  siete,  bella,  rocca  e  muro; 
mentre  vivo  per  voi  starb  sicuro. 

(V.R.V.    Tr.    Nan.) 


is 


KING  JOHN  OF  BRIENNE 

IX 

Donna,  audite  como 

mi  tengo  vostr'  omo 

e  non  d'  altro  signore. 

La  mia  vita  fina 

voi  1'  avete  in  dotrina 

ed  in  vostro  tenore. 

Oi  chiarita  spera, 

la  vostra  dolce  ciera 

de  l'altr'  e  genzore. 

Cosi  similemente 

e  lo  vostro  colore. 

Colore  non  vidi  si  gente 

ne  'n  tinta  ne  fiore, 

ancor  la  fiore  sia  aulente 

voi  avete  il  dolzore, 

dolze  tempo  e  gaudente 

inver  la  pascore. 

Ogn'  omo  c'  ama  altamente 

si  de'  aver  bon  core 

d'  essere  cortese  e  valente 

e  leal  servidore 

inver  la  sua  donna  piagente 

chui  ama  a  tutore. 

Tutor  de'  guardare 

di  fare  fallanza; 

che  non  e  da  laudare 

chi  non  a  leanza, 

e  ben  de'  om  guardare 

la  sua  noranza. 


i6  KING   JOHN  OF   BRIENNE 

Cierto  be'  mi  pare 
che  si  faccia  biasmare 
chi  si  vuol  orgogliare 
la  've  non  ha  possanza ; 
e  chi  bene  vuol  fare 
si  si  de'  umiliare 
inver  [sua]  donna,  amare 
e  far  conoscanza. 
Or  vegna  a  ridare 
chi  ci  sa  andare ; 
e  chi  a  intendanza 
si  degia  allegrare 
e  gran  gioia  menare 
per  fin'  amanza. 
Chi  no  lo  sa  fare 
si  si  vada  a  posare, 
non  si  faccia  biasmare 
di  trarresi  a  danza. 

Fino  amor  m'  ha  comandato 
ch'  io  m'  allegri  tuttavia, 
faccia  si  ch'  io  servo  a  grato 
a  la  dolce  donna  mia, 
queila  c'  amo  piu  'n  cielato 
che  Tristano  non  facea 
Isotta,  com'  e  contato, 
ancor  che  le  fosse  zia; 
lo  re  Marco  era  'ngannato 
perch'  el  lui  si  confidia. 
Ello  n'  era  smisurato 
e  Tristan  se  ne  godea 
de  lo  bel  viso  rosato 
ch'  Isaotta  biond'  avea; 
ancor  che  fosse  pecato 


KING  JOHN   OF   BRIENNE  17 

altro  far  non  ne  potea; 
c'  a  la  nave  H  fu  dato 
onde  ci6  li  dovenia. 
Nullo  si  faccia  mirato 
s5  io  languisco  tuttavia, 
ch'  io  son  piu  inamorato 
che  null'  altr'  omo  che  sia. 

Per  la  fior  de  [le]  contrate, 
che  tutte  [1']  altre  passate 
di  belleze  e  [di]  bontate 
donzelle,  or  v'  adornate; 
tutte  a  madonna  andate 
e  merce[de]  le  chiamate, 
che  di  me  aggia  pietate, 
di  que'  che  la  [rijmembranza 
le  degiate  portare ; 
giamai  'n  altr'  intendanza 
non  mi  voglio  penare, 
se  no  'n  lei,  per  amanza, 
che  lo  meglio  mi  pare. 

Dio  mi  lasci  v[ed]er  la  dia 
ch'  io  serva  a  madonna  mia 

a  piacimento ; 
ch'  io  servire  la  voria 
a  la  fior  di  cortesia 
e  [d']  insegnamento. 

Meglio  mi  tengo  per  pagato 

di  madonna, 
che  s'  io  avessi  lo  contato 

di  Bologna, 
e  la  Marca  e  lo  ducato 

di  Guascogna. 


18  KING   JOHN   OF   BRIENNE 

E  le  donne  e  le  donzelle 

rendano  le  lor  castelle 

sanza  temere ; 

tosto  tosto  vada  fore 

chi  non  ama  di  bon  core 

a  piaciere. 

(V.R.V.     Tr.     Mon.) 

RINALDO  D'AQUINO 

X 

Per  fino  amore  vo  si  lletamente 

ch'  io  non  aggio  veduto 
omo  ch'  in  gioia  mi  possa  aparigliare ; 
e  paremi  che  falla  malamente 

omo  c'  ha  riceputo 
ben  da  sengnore  e  poi  lo  vuol  cielare. 

Ma  eo  nol  cielaraggio 
com'  altamente  amor  m'  ha  meritato, 

che  m'  ha  dato  a  servire 
a  la  fiore  di  tutta  canoscienza 

e  di  valenza 
e  di  bellezze  piu  che  non  so  dire. 

Amor  m'  ha  sormontato 
lo  core  in  mante  guise,  e  gran  gioia  n'  aggio. 

Aggio  gioi'  piu  di  nullo  certamente, 

c'  amor  m'  a  si  arriccuto, 
da  che  lei  piacio,  che  la  degia  amare, 
poi  che  (ella)  delle  donne  e  la  piu  gente 

si  alto  dono  aggio  avuto, 
d'  altro  amador  piu  degio  in  gioia  stare ; 

che  null'  altro  coraggio 
poria  aver  gioia  ver  core  inamorato. 

Dunqua  senza  fallire 


RINALDO   D' AQUINO  19 

a  la  mia  gioia  null'  altra  gioia  s'  intenza ; 

non  ho  temenza 
c'  altro  amador  potesse  unque  avenire, 

per  suo  servire  a  grato 
de  lo  suo  fino  amor,  al  mio  paragio. 

Para  no  averai,  si  se'  valente; 

che  lo  mondo  a.  cresciuto 
lo  presgio  tuo,  si  lo  sape  avanzare. 
Presgio  d'  amore  non  vale  neente, 

poi  donna  ha  ritenuto 
a  servidore,  c'  altro  de'  pigliare ; 

che  1'  amoroso  usagio 
non  vuol  che  sia  per  donna  meritato 

piu  d'  uno  a  tiranare, 
ched  altrui  ingannare  e  gran  fallenza 

in  mia  parvenza; 
chi  fa  del  suo  servire  dipartire 

quelli  c'  assai  e  stato, 
senza  mal  fare,  mal  fa  sengnoragio. 

Sengnoria  vuol  ch'  io  serva  lealmente, 

che  mi  sia  ben  renduto 
buon  merito,  che  non  saccio  biasmare, 
e  Dio  mi  laudo,  che  piu  altamente 

che  non  aio  servuto 
amor  m'  ha  coninzato  a  meritare. 

Se  bene  che  faraggio 
quando  sard  d'  amor  cosi  inalzato, 

pero  voria  compiere 
come  de'  far  chi  si  bene  inconenza ; 

ma  no  credenza 
che  non  venisse  mai  per  mio  volere ; 

si  [d'  amor]  (non)  son  aiutato 
i'  ho  piu  d'  aquisto  che  non  serviragio. 
c  2 


2o  RINALDO   D'AQUINO 

XI 

Giammai  non  mi  conforto 
ne  mi  voglio  rallegrare, 
le  navi  son  giunte  al  porto, 
e  vogliono  collare; 
vassene  la  piCi  gente 
in  terra  d'  oltremare, 
ed  io  lassa  dolente, 
come  deg'  io  fare? 

Vassen' '  in  altra  contrata, 

e  nol  mi  manda  a  dire; 

ed  io  rimangno  ingannata, 

tanti  son  li  sospire, 

che  mi  fanno  gran  guerra 

la  notte  co  la  dia; 

<e>  ne  in  cielo  ne  in  terra 

non  mi  par  ch'  io  sia. 

Santus,  Santus  Deo 

che  'n  la  virgen  venisti, 

tu  salva  [e  guarda]  1'  amor  meo 

poi[che]  da  me  '1  dipartisti. 

Oi  alta  potestate 

temuta  e  dottata, 

il  dolce  mio  amore 

ti  sia  racomandata. 

La  croce  salva  la  gente, 
e  me  face  disviare; 
la  croce  mi  fa  dolente, 
non  mi  val  Dio  pregare. 
Oi  me,  croce  pellegrina, 
perche  m'  ai  cosi  distrutta? 
1  qy.  Vassi. 


RINALDO   D' AQUINO  21 

Oi  me  lassa  tapina, 

ch'  i'  ardo  e  'nciendo  tutta. 

Lo  'mperador  con  pace 

tutto  '1  mondo  mantiene, 

ed  a  me  guerra  face, 

[che]  m'  a  tolta  la  mia  spene. 

Oi  alta  potestade, 

temuta  e  (ri)dottata, 

lo  mio  dolce  amore 

vi  sia  racomandata. 

Quando  la  croce  pigliao, 
cierto  nol  mi  pensai  — 
quel  che  tanto  m'  amao 
ed  io  lui  tanto  amai, 
ch'  io  ne  fui  battuta 
e  messa  in  presgioni, 
e  in  cielata  tenuta, 
per  la  vita  mia. 

Le  navi  sono  alle  colle, 
in  bonora  possano  andare, 
e  '1  mio  amor  con  elle, 
e  la  gente  che  va  andare. 
Padre  criatore, 
a  santo  porto  le  conduce 
che  vanno  a  servidore 
de  la  santa  croce. 

Pero  ti  prego,  Dolcietto, 
che  sai  la  pena  mia, 
che  men  faci  un  sonetto 
e  mandilo  in  Soria. 
Ch'  io  nom  posso  abentare 
notte  ne  dia  ; 


22  RINALDO   D' AQUINO 

in  terra  d'  oltremare 

ista  la  vita  mia. 

(V.R.V.     Mon.  etc.) 

XII 

In  gioi'  mi  tengo  tutta  la  mia  pena, 
e  contolami  in  gran  buona  ventura; 
si  com  Parisgi  quando  amava  Elena, 
cosi  fac'  io  membrando  per  ongnura, 

non  cura  lo  meo  cor  s'  a  pene 

membrando  [la]  gioia  che  vene, 
quando  piu  dole,  ed  ella  [piu]  e  dura. 

Null'  omo  credo  c'  ami  lealmente 
che  tema  pene  inver  sua  donna  c'  ama , 
amante  (egli)  e  che  ama  falsamente 
quandunque  vede  un  poco  e  que'  piu  brama, 

e  chiama  tutta  via  mercede, 

e  giammai  non  si  crede 
c'  amor  conosca  il  male  c'  altrui  inflama. 

Perb  la  tegno  grande  scanoscienza, 
chi  rimproccia  al  amore  i  suoi  tormente ; 
che  non  e  gioi'  che  si  vien  da  incredenza 
ne  per  forza  di  pene  c'  altrui  sente. 

Non  mente  a  quelli  che  son  suoi, 

anzi  li  dona  gioi' 
come  fa  buon  singnore  a  suo  servente. 

Dunque,  madonna,  ben  faccio  ragione, 
s'  io  vi  conto  le  pene  che  patia, 
ancor  ch'  i'  aggio  avuto  guiderdone, 
della  piu  ricca  gioia  ch'  'n  voi  sia. 

Voria,  bella,  a  poco  a  poco 

con  voi  rintrare  in  giuoco, 
com'  io  son  vostro   e  voi  madonna  mia. 


RINALDO    D'AQUINO  23 

Or  ti  rimembri,  bella,  a  quello  punto 
ched  io  ti  presi  ad  amare  coragio; 
dapoi  che  gravemente  m'  aggi  punto, 
tutta  la  pena  ben  mi  par  ch'  i'  aggio. 

Ben  agio  amor  e  vo'  servire, 

e  tragiendo  martire 

e  non  cangiar  per  nulla  gioia  c'  agio. 

(V.R.V.     Tr.) 

XIII 

Amorosa  donna  fina, 
Stella  che  levi  la  dia 
sembran  le  vostre  bellezze. 
Sovrana  fior  di  Messina, 
nom  pare  che  donna  sia 
vostra  para  d'  adornezze. 
Or  dunqua  non  e  maraviglia 
se  fiamma  d'  amor  mi  piglia, 
guardando  lo  vostro  viso, 
che  1'  amor  m'  in  fiamma  in  foco 
sol  ch'  i'  vi  riguardo  un  poco ; 
levatemi  gioco  e  riso. 

Gioco  e  riso  mi  levate 
membrando  tutta  stagione 
che  d'  amor  vi  fui  servente. 
Ne  della  vostr'  amistate 
non  ebbi  anche  guiderdone 
se  no  un  bascio  solamente. 
E  quel  bascio  m'  infiamao 
che  dal  corpo  mi  levao 
lo  core  e  di'  ello  a  voi. 
Degiateci  provedere, 
che  vita  pub  1'  omo  avere 
se  lo  cor  non  e  con  lui  ? 


24  RINALDO    D'AQUINO 

Lo  meo  cor  non  e  co  meco, 
ched  io  tutto  lo  v'  ho  dato, 
e  ne  son  rimasto  in  pene ; 
di  sospiri  mi  notrico, 
membrando  da  voi  son  errato 
e  nom  so  perche  m'  avene ; 
per  li  (ri)sguardi  amorosi 
che  savete  sono  ascosi 
quando  mi  tenete  mente ; 
che  li  sg(uard)i  micidiali 
voi  facete  tanti  e  tali 
che  aucidete  la  giente. 

Altrui  aucidete  che  meve, 
che  m'  avete  im  foco  miso 
che  d'  ongne  parte  m'  aluma. 
Tutto  esto  mondo  e  di  neve, 
di  tal  foco  son  racceso 
che  me  ne  (tutto)  consuma, 
e  con  foco  che  non  pare 
che  la  neve  fa  allumare, 
ed  inciendo  tra  lo  ghiaccio; 
quell'  e  lo  foco  d'  amore, 
c'  arde  lo  fino  amadore 
quando  ei  non  ha(ve)  sollaccio. 

Se  '1  sollaccio  non  avesse, 
se  non  da  voi  la  sembiante 
con  parlamento  sguardare 
la  gran  gioi'  quando  volesse; 
perche  porto  pene  tante 
ch'  io  no  le  poria  contare 
ne  di '  null'  omo  che  sia 
la  mia  voglia  non  diria, 
1  qy.  ned  a. 


RINALDO   D'AQUINO  25 

dovesse  morir  penando ; 

se  non  este  u  montellese, 

cib  e  '1  vostro  serventese, 

a  voi  lo  dico  in  cantando. 

V.R.V.) 


GIACOMINO  PUGLIESE 

XIV 

Morte,  perche  m'  ai  fatta  si  gran  guerra 
che  m'  ai  tolta  madonna,  ond'  io  mi  dolglio? 
la  flor  de  le  bellezze  e  morta  in  terra 
perche  lo  mondo  non  amo  ne  volglio. 
Villana  morte,  che  non  ai  pietanza, 
disparti  amore  e  tolgli  la  allegranza 

e  dai  cordoglio ; 
la  mia  allegranza  ai  posta  in  gran  tristanza, 
che  m'  ai  tolto  la  gioia  e  1'  allegranza 

c'  avere  soglio. 

Solea  aver  sollazzo  e  gioco  e  riso 
piu  che  null'  altro  cavalier  che  sia ; 
or  n'  e  gita  madonna  im  paradiso  ; 
portonne  la  dolce  speranza  mia, 
lasciommi  in  pene  e  con  sospiri  e  pianti, 
levommi  da  lo  dolze  gioco  e  canti, 

e  compangnia. 
Or  non  la  veggio,  ne  la  sto  davanti, 
e  non  mi  mostra  li  dolzi  sembianti, 

come  solia. 

Ov'  e  madonna  e  lo  suo  insegnamento, 
la  sua  bellezza  e  la  gran  canoscienza, 
lo  dolze  riso  e  lo  bel  parlamento, 
gli  occhi  e  la  bocca  e  la  bella  sembianza  ? 


26  GIACOMINO   PUGLIESE 

Oime,  sia  in  nulla  parte  cib  m'  e  aviso ; 
madonna,  chi  lo  tiene,  lo  tuo  viso, 

in  sua  ballia? 
lo  vostro  insengnamento  dond'  e  miso? 
e  lo  tuo  franco  cor  chi  mi  1'  a  priso, 

(ma)donna  mia? 

Oi  Deo,  perche  m'  ai  posto  in  tale  stanza? 
ch'  io  son  smarato  e  non  so  ove  mi  sia, 
che  m'  ai  levato  la  dolze  speranza, 
partita  la  piu  dolze  compangnia, 
lo  adornamento  e  la  sua  cortesia. 
Madonna,  per  cui  stava  tuttavia 

in  allegranza, 
or  non  la  vegio  ne  notte  ne  dia, 
e  non  m'  abella,  si  com  far  solia, 

la  sua  sembianza. 

Se  fosse  mio  '1  reame  d'  Ungaria, 

con  Grezia  e  la  Mangna  infino  in  Franza, 

lo  gran  tesoro  di  Santa  Sofia, 

non  poria  ristorar  si  gran  perdanza 

come  fu  in  quella  dia  che  si  n'  andao 

madonna,  e  d'  esta  vita  trapassao 

con  gran  tristanza; 
sospiri  e  pene  e  pianti  mi  lasciao, 
e  giammai  nulla  gioia  mi  mandao 

per  confortanza. 

Se  fosse  al  mio  voler,  donna,  di  voi, 
diciesse  a  Dio  sovran  che  tutto  facie 
che  notte  e  giorno  istessimo  ambondoi. 
Or  sia  il  voler  di  Dio,  da  ch'  a  lui  piace. 
Membro  e  ricordo  quand'  era  con  meco 
sovente  m'  apellava  dolze  amico, 
ed  or  nol  facie. 


GIACOMINO   PUGLIESE  27 

Poi  Dio  la  prese  e  menolla  con  seco, 
la  sua  vertute  sia,  bella,  con  teco, 
e  la  sua  pacie. 

(V.R.V.     Nan.     Mon.) 

XV 

Ispendiente  Stella  d'  albore 

e  piagiente  donna  d'  amore, 

bella,  lo  core  mio  c'  ai  'n  tua  ballia 

da  voi  non  si  diparte  in  (non)fidanza. 

Or  ti  rimembra,  bella,  quella  dia 

che  noi  fermammo  la  dolze  amanza. 

Bella,  or  ti  sia  in  rimembranza 
la  dolze  dia  e  1'  allegranza, 
che  in  diportanza  io  stava  con  voi ; 
basciando  mi  dicei :   Anima  mia, 
lo  dolze  amore  ch'  e  intra  noi  dui 
non  falsasse  per  cosa  che  sia. 

Lo  tuo  splendore  m'  a  si  preso, 
di  gioia  d'  amore  m'  a  conquiso 
si,  che  non  mi  so  da  voi  dipartire, 
e  non  faria,  se  Dio  lo  volesse. 
Ben  mi  poria  adoblar  li  martire, 
se  fallimento  'nver  voi  faciesse. 

Donna  valente,  la  mia  vita 

per  voi,  piagente,  e  ismarrita, 

se  non  la  aita  fosse  e  lo  comforto, 

membrando  ch'  ei  te,  bella,  a  lo  mio  brazo 

<?alor)  quando  sciendesti  a  me  in  diporto 

per  la  finestra  de  lo  palazo. 

Alor  t'  ei,  bella,  in  mia  balia, 
rosa  novella  per  me  tenia  ; 


28  GIACOMINO    PUGLIESE 

di  voi  presi  amorosa  vegianza. 

O,  in  fide,  rosa,  fosti  patuta ; 

se  'n  mia  balia  avesse  Spangna  e  Franza, 

non  averei  si  rica  tenuta. 

Ch'  io  mi  partia  da  voi,  intando 

diciavatemi  sospirando : 

'Se  vai,  meo  sire,  e  fai  dimoranza, 

ve!  ch'  io  m'  arendo  e  faccio  altra  vita ; 

giamai  non  entro  in  gioco  ne  in  danza, 

ma  sto  richiusa  piii  che  romita.' 

Or  vi  sia  a  mente,  donna  mia, 
ch'  entrava  giente,  v'  ha  'm  balia ; 
di  me  vi  sia,  bella,  rimembranza. 
Tu  sai,  amore,  le  pene  ch'  io  trasse ; 
chi  ne  diparte  mora  (egli)  in  tristanza  : 
lo  vostro  core  (mai)   non  falsasse. 

Chi  ne  diparte,  fior  di  rosa, 
non  abbia  parte  im  bona  cosa; 
che  Deo  fecie  1'  amore  dolcie  e  fino 
di  due  amanti  che  s'  amar  di  core, 
assai  (ver  e,  si)  canta  Giacomino, 
reo  e  chi  sparte  (?  lo  fino)  amore. 


(V.R.V.     Mon.j 


XVI 

Tuttor  la  dolze  speranza 
di  voi,  donna,  mi  comforta, 
membrando  la  tua  semblanza; 
tant'  e  la  gioia  che  mi  porta, 
che  nulla  pena  mi  pare  sofrire ; 
e  cotanto  lo  dolzore 
ca  lo  core 


GIACOMINO   PUGLIESE  29 

tuttora  mi  fa  sbaldire. 
Non  pensai,  dolze  amore, 

c'  a  null'  ore 
dovessi  da  me  partire. 
Madonna  dolcie  e  piagiente, 
la  vostra  gran  canoscienza 
non  falli  si  grevemente 
c'  abassi  vostra  valenza. 
S'  abandonassi  cid  che  hai  conquiso, 
perderia  lo  grande  pregio, 

e  'n  dispregio 
vostro  (onor)  e  (tutto)  miso. 
Post'  ho,  donna,  ('1  mio  desio) 

(quando  vegio) 
si  alto  amore  disceso. 
Oi  bella  dolzetta  mia, 
non  far  si  gran  fallimento, 
di  creder  a  giente  ria 
de  lor  falso  parlamento. 
Le  lor  parole  sono  viva  lanza 
che  li  cori  van  pungendo 

e  diciendo 
per  mala !  indivinanza. 
Donna,  merze,  ch'  io  'nciendo 

(si)  veggendo 
dispartire  dolze  amanza. 
Donna,  se  me  non  vuoi  'ntendere 
non  mi  fare  si  gran  fallia; 
lo  mio  cor  mi  degie  rendere, 
ch'  e  distretto  in  vostra  ballia ; 
che  grande  perdanza  di  me  saria, 
perdere  lo  cor  e  voi 

ambedui. 

1  qy.  malvagia. 


3o  G1AC0MIN0   PUGLIESE 

Bella,  per  voi  non  si  sia, 
lo  dolcie  amore  che  fui 

fra  noi  dui 
nom  falli,  (ma)donna  mia. 

Donna,  se  'nver  me  falsassi 

bello  sacco1  tanto  fino 

che  vostro  amor  s'  inabassi, 

di  voi  diria  Giacomino 

che  vostra  usanza  sia  spessamente 

che  t'  infinga  d'  amar,  poi 

pare  a  noi 
trezeria  (esser)  parvente. 
Donna,  merze,  cib  non  fare; 

in  fallare 
non  agie  core  ne  mente. 

COMPAGNETTO  DA  PRATO 

XVII 

(  Per  lo  marito  c'  6  rio 
1'  amor  m'  e  'ntrato  'n  coraggio ; 
sollazo  e  gram  bene  agg'  io 
per  lo  mal  che  con  lui  aggio. 
Che  per  lo  suo  lacierare  — 
tal  pensero,  O !  no  1'  avea  — 
che  sono  preso  d'  amare, 
fino  amante  aggio  in  balia 
che  mi  fa  'n  gran  gioia  stare. 

Gieloso,  batuta  m'  ai, 
piacieti  di  darmi  doglia; 
ma  quanto  pi  ft  mal  mi  fai 
tanto  piCi  '1  mi  metti  in  voglia. 
1  qy.  ben  lo  saccio. 


(V.R.V.) 


COMPAGNETTO   DA   PRATO  31 

Di  tal  uom  m'  acasgionasti 
c'  amanza  non  avea  'ntra  noi ; 
ma  da  che  mi  ricordasti 
l'amor  mi  prese  di  lui. 
Lo  tuo  danagio  pensasti. 

Mio  amor  mi  mette  a  rasgione, 
[e]  dicie,  s'  io  1'  amo  a  cor  fino, 
pero  che  m'  abe  a  casgione 
ch'  era  nel  male  dimino? 
Per  ira  del  mal  marito 
m'  avesti  e  non  per  amore; 
ma  da  che  m'  ai,  si  m'  e  gito 
lo  tuo  dolzor  dentro  al  core ; 
mio  male  in  gioia  m'  e  ridito. 

Drudo  mio,  a  te  mi  richiamo 
d'  una  vecchia  c'  6  a  vicina; 
ch'  ella,  s'  e  accorta  ch'  io  t'  amo, 
del  suo  mal  dir  non  rifina. 
Con  [molto]  adiroso  talento 
m'  ave  di  te  gastigata, 
mettemi  a  maggior  tormento 
che  quel  cui  son  maritata, 
non  mi  lascia  aver  abento.' 

'  Madonna,  per  lo  tuo  onore, 
a.  nulla  vecchia  non  credere; 
ch'  elle  in  guerra  anno  1'  amore, 
perc'  altri  loro  non  credere. 
Le  vecchie  son  mala  giente, 
non  ti  lascia  dismagare ; 
che  '1  nostro  amor  fino  e  giente 
per  lor  nom  possa  falzare ; 
Mettale  Dio  im  foco  arzente.' 


32  COMPAGNETTO    DA    PRATO 

La  bella  dicie  :    '  Pardeo, 
giurolti  per  mia  leanza, 
che  non  e  cosa  perch'  eo 
lasciasie  la  tu'  amistanza. 
Ma  perch'  io  mi  ti  lamento 
d'  una  mia  desaventura, 
non  aver  tu  pensamento 
che  d'  altr'  amor  agie  cura, 
se  non  far  tuo  piacimento.' 


(V.R.V.     Mon.) 


JACOPO  D'AQUINO 

XVIII 

Al  cor  m'  e  nato  e  prende  uno  disio 
d'  una  che  m'  a  si  lungiamente  priso 
e  si  mi  stringe  forte,  che  non  crio 
che  d'  altro  amor  mi  piaccia  gioia  ne  riso. 

Vaio  ne  griso, 

ne  nulla  gioia  che  sia, 

io  non  voria ; 

ne  singnoria, 

ma  tuttavia 

vedere  lo  bel  viso. 

Cosi  m'  afina  amore,  che  m'  a  tolto 
core  e  disio  e  tutta  la  mia  mente; 
e  d'  altra  donna  amar  non  sono  accorto 
che  tanto  sia  amorosa  ne  piacente. 

Non  m'  e  neente 

sed  io  son  d'  altra  amato 

o  disiato, 

bello  provato, 

mentr'  io  son  stato 

Ionian  della  piu  giente. 


JACOPO   D'AQUINO  33 

Ancor  ch'  io  sia  lontano  in  altra  parte 
lavunqu'  io  vada  il  suo  amor  mi  mantiene, 
e  giamai  dal  mio  core  non  si  parte, 
ne  altra  donna  amar  non  mi  sovene. 

Percio  m'  avene, 

ca  s'  io  songno  la  veio, 

dormo  e  donneio, 

vegliar  mi  crio, 

ma  non  disio 

d'  aver  null'  altro  bene. 

Membrandomi  la  sua  ciera  piagiente 
veder  la  creo  tutta  per  sembiante, 
com  omo  c'  a  lo  specchiar  tene  mente ; 
cosi  mi  pare  ch'  io  1'  agia  davanti. 

Poi  sono  tanti 

li  sospiri,  membrando, 

pure  aspettando 

e  disiando 

di  veder  quando 

io  1'  agia  davanti. 

(V.R.V.   Tr.) 


TOMASO  DI  SASSO  DI  MESSINA 
XIX 

D'  amoroso  paeso 

sospiri  [e  dolzi  pianti]  m'  a  mandato 
amor,  che  m'  a.  donato  [ad  una]  donna  amare. 

[Giajmai  senza  sospirare 
amore  me  non  lascia  solo  un'  ora. 
Deo,  che  folle  natura !    ella  m'  a.  preso 
ch'  io  non  saccio  altro  fare, 

se  non  pensare,  e  quanto  piu  mi  sforzo 


34  TOMASO   DI  SASSO   DI   MESSINA 

allora  meno  posso  avere  abento ; 

e  uscito  m'  e  di  mente 
gia  lungiamente  ogni  altro  pensamento, 
e  si  veglio  o  dormento  sento  amore. 

Amore  sento  tanto, 

donna,  c'  altro  nom  faccia, 
son  divenuto  paccio  troppo  amando; 

moro  considerando 
che  sia  amore  che  tanto  m'  allaccia. 
Non  trovo  chi  lo  saccia,  ond'  io  mi  schianto, 
ch'  e  vicino  di  morte, 

crudele  sorte,  mal  che  non  a  nomo ; 
che  mai  non  lo  pote  omo  ben  guarire ' ; 

dunque  pur  voria  dire 
come  sentire  amor  mi  fa  tormento; 
forse  per  mio  lamento  lo  mi  lascia. 

Amor  mi  facie  [umile  ed]  umano, 

crucioso  e  sollazante, 
e  per  mia  volglia  amante  amor  negando; 

e  medica  piagando2 
amore,  che  nel  mare  tempestoso 
navica  vigoroso,  e  ne  lo  chiano 
teme  la  tempestate. 

Folli,  sacciate  finche  1'  amadore 
disia,  vive  'n  dolore3,  e  poi  che  tene 

credendosi  aver  bene, 
dagli  amor  pene  sperando  aver  gioia, 
la  gielosia  e  la  noia  che  1'  asale. 

Amor  mi  fa  fellone, 

sfacciato  e  vergongnoso; 
quanto  piu  son  dolglioso  alegro  paro 

e  nom  posso  esser  varo. 
1  gucr  .  .  .  ,  V.R.V.       -  pieg  .  .  .  ,  V.  R.V.        *  qy.  dolzorc. 


TOMASO   DI   SASSO   DI    MESSINA  35 

Da  poi  che  cristallo  avene  la  neve 
squalgliare  mai  non  deve,  per  rasgione; 
cosi  eo,  che  no  rifino, 

son  poco  mino  divenuto,  amore. 
Agua  per  gran  dimoro  torna  sale ; 

cotal  dolglia  mortale, 
gravoso  male,  da  meve  stesso  e  nato, 
che  non  agio  nul  lato  che  non  ami. 

Poi  ch'  io  si  lungiamente 

agio  amato,  giamai  no  rifinai, 
tardi  mi  risvelgliai  a  disamare; 

che  non  si  pu6  astutare 
cosi  sanza  fatica  uno  gran  foco, 
ma  si  consuma  '1  foco  per  neiente. 
Dunqua  como  faraggio  ? 

Bene  ameraggio,  ma  [bene]  saver  voria 
che  fera  singnoria  mi  face  amare, 

che  gran  follia  mi  pare 
omo  inorare  a  si  folle  singnore, 
c'  a  lo  suo  servidore  non  si  mostra. 

(V.R.V.    Nan.) 


GIUDICE     GUIDO     DE     LE     COLONNE     DI 

MESSINA 

XX 

Amor,  che  lungiamente  m'  ai  menato 
a  freno  stretto  sanza  riposanza, 
alarga  le  tue  redine  in  pietanza, 
che  soperchianza  m'  a  vinto  e  stancato ; 
c'  6  piu  durato  ch'  io  non  b  possanza 
per  voi,  madonna,  a  cui  porto  leanza, 
D  2 


36  GIUDICE  GUIDO   DI   MESSINA 

piu  che  non  fa  assessino  a  suo  cuitato, 
che  si  lascia  morir  per  sua  credanza. 
Ben  este  affanno  dilettoso  amare, 
e  dolce  pena  ben  si  pub  chiamare ; 
ma  voi,  madonna,  della  mia  travaglia, 
cosi  mi  squaglia,  prenda  voi  mercede, 
che  ben'  e  dolce  il  mal,  se  non  m'  ancide. 

Oi  dolce  ciera  con  sguardo  soave, 
piu  bella  d'  altra  che  sia  in  vostra  terra, 
traete  lo  mio  core  ormai  di  guerra, 
che  per  voi  erra  e  gran  travaglia  n'  ave; 
che  si  gran  trave  poco  ferro  serra, 
e  poca  pioggia  grande  vento  atterra. 
Perb,  madonna,  non  v'  incresca  o  grave 
s'  amor  vi  sforza,  c'  ogni  cosa  inferra, 
che  certo  non  gli  e  troppo  disonore 
quand'  omo  e  vinto  d'  uno  suo  migliore, 
e  tanto  piu  d'  amor  che  vince  tutto. 
Percib  non  dotto  c'  amor  non  vi  smova; 
saggio  guerrero  vince  guerra  e  prova. 

Non  dico  c'  a  la  vostra  gran  bellezza 
orgoglio  non  convenga  e  steavi  bene; 
c'  a  bella  donna  orgoglio  ben  convene, 
che  si  mantiene  in  presgio  ed  in  grandezza ; 
troppa  alterezza  e  quella  che  sconvene, 
di  grande  orgoglio  mai  ben  non  avvene. 
Dunque,  madonna,  la  vostra  durezza 
convertasi  in  pietanza  e  si  raffrene; 
non  si  distenda  tanto  che  mi  pera. 
Lo  sol  sta  alto  e  face  la  lumera 
piu  viva,  quanto  in  alto  ha  a  passare  ; 
vostro  orgogliare  dunque  e  vostra  altezza 
facciami  pro  e  tornimi  in  dolcezza. 


GIUDICE   GUIDO   DI    MESSINA  37 

F  allumo  dentro  e  forz'  e  far  sembianza 
di  non  mostrar  cio  che  lo  mio  cor  sente; 
oi,  quanto  e  dura  pena  al  cor  dolente 
istar  taciente  e  non  far  dimostranza ! 
che  la  pesanza  a  la  cera  consente, 
e  fanno  vista  di  lor  portamenti. 
Cosi  son  volontieri  in  acordanza 
gli  occhi  co  lo  core  insembramente. 
Forza  di  senno  e  quella  che  soverchia 
ardir  di  core  e  asconda  ed  incoverchia ; 
ben  e  gran  senno,  chi  lo  pote  fare, 
saper  celare,  ed  essersi  sengnore 
de  lo  suo  core,  quand'  este  in  errore. 

Amor  fa  disviare  li  piu  saggi, 
e  chi  piu  ama  meno  a.  in  se  misura ; 
piu  folle  e  quello  che  piu  s'innamora. 
Amor  non  cura  di  far  suoi  dannaggi, 
che  li  coraggi  mette  in  tal  calura 
ch'  uom  non  pub  raffredare  per  fredura ; 
gli  occhi  al  core  sono  gli  messaggi 
del  suo  cominciamento  per  natura. 
Dunque,  madonna,  gli  occhi  e  lo  mio  core 
avete  in  vostra  man  dentro  e  di  fore; 
c'  amor  mi  smena  e  il  vivere  combatte 
com  vento  batte  nave  e  smena  in  onda ; 
voi  siete  il  mio  pennel  che  non  afonda. 

XXI 

Ancor  che  1'  aigua  per  lo  foco  lasse 

la  sua  grande  freddura, 

non  cangerea  natura 
s'  alcun  vasello  in  mezzo  non  vi  stasse; 
anzi  averrea  senza  lunga  dimora 


38  GIUDICE  GUIDO   DI    MESSINA 

che  lo  foco  astutasse 

o  che  1'  aigua  seccasse, 
ma  per  lo  mezzo  1'  uno  e  1'  altro  dura. 

Cosi,  gentil  creatura, 

in  me  ha  mostrato  amore 

1'  ardente  suo  valore, 
che  senza  amore  era  aigua  fredda  e  ghiaccia  ; 

ma  el  m'  a  si  allumato 

di  foco  che  m'  abraccia, 

ch'  eo  fora  consumato 

se  voi,  donna  sovrana, 

non  foste  voi  mezana 

infra  1'  amore  e  meve, 
che  fa  lo  foco  nascere  di  neve. 

Imagine  di  neve  si  pud  dire 

om  che  non  a  sentore 

d'  amoroso  calore; 
ancor  sia  vivo  non  si  sa  sbaldire. 
Amor  e  uno  spirito  d'  ardore 

che  non  si  puo  vedire, 

ma  sol  per  li  sospire 
si  fa  sentire  in  quel  ch'  e  amadore. 

Cosi,  donna  d'  aunore, 

lo  mio  gran  sospirare 

vi  poria  certa  fare 
dell'  amorosa  fiamma  ond'  eo  son  involto; 

e  non  so  come  eo  duro, 

si  m'  ave  preso  e  tolto; 

e  parmi  esser  sicuro 

che  molti  altri  amanti 

per  amor  tutti  quanti 

sono  perduti  e  morti ; 
e  non  amar  quant'  eo  ne  si  forte. 


GIUDICE   GUIDO   DI   MESSINA  39 

Eo  v'  amo  tanto,  che  mille  fiate 

lo  giorno  mi  s'  aranca 

lo  spirito  che  manca, 
pensando,  donna,  la  vostra  beltate ; 
e  lo  disio  ch'  eo  ho  lo  cor  m'  abranca, 

crescemi  volontate, 

mettemi  'n  tempestate, 
de  lo  grande  pensier  che  mai  non  stanca. 

O  colorita  e  bianca 

e  gioia  de  lo  mio  bene, 

speranza  mi  mantene, 
e  s'  eo  lenguisco,  non  posso  morire ; 

che  mentre  viva  sete 

eo  non  poria  fallire, 

anco  che  fame  e  sete 

lo  meo  corpo  tormenti ; 

ma  sol  ch'  io  tegna  a  mente 

vostra  gaia  persona, 
oblio  la  morte,  tal  forza  mi  dona. 

Eo  non  credo  che  sia  quel  ch'  avia 

lo  spirito  che  porto, 

ched  eo  fora  gia  morto, 
tant'  6  passato  male  tuttavia. 
Lo  spirito  ch'  i'  agio,  ond'  eo  mi  sporto, 

credo  la  vostra  sia, 

che  nel  mio  petto  stia, 
e  abiti  meco  in  gran  gioi'  e  diporto. 

Or  mi  son  bene  accarto, 

quando  da  voi  mi  venni, 

che  quando  'n  mente  tenni 
vostro  amoroso  viso  netto  e  chiaro, 

li  vostri  occhi  piagenti 

allora  m'  addobraro, 


4o  G1UDICE   GUIDO   DI    MESSINA 

che  'n  mi  tennero  mente, 

e  diedermi  nascoso 

uno  spirto  amoroso 

c'  assai  mi  fa  piu  amare 
che  non  amo  null'  altra,  cib  mi  pare. 
La  calamita,  contano  i  saccenti, 

che  trare  non  poria 

ferro  per  maestria, 
se  non  che  V  aire  in  mezzo  lei  consenti ; 
ancor  che  calamita  petra  sia, 

1'  altre  petre  neenti 

non  son  cosi  potenti 
a  trajer,  perche  non  n'  anno  balia. 

Cosi,  madonna  mia, 

P  amor  s'  e  apperceputo 

che  non  m'   avria  potuto 
traer  a  se,  se  non  fusse  per  voi. 

E  si  son  donne  assai, 

ma  non  ulla  per  cui 

eo  mi  movesse  mai, 

se  non  per  voi,  piagente, 

in  cui  e  fermamente 

la  forza  e  la  virtute; 

adonqua  prego  P  amor  che  m'  aiuti. 

(Mon.    Nan.) 

XXII 

Poi  non  mi  val  merce  ne  ben  servire 
inver  madonna,  in  cui  tengno  speranza, 

ed  amo  lealmente, 
non  so  che  cosa  mi  poria  valere ; 
se  di  me  non  le  prende  pietanza, 

ben  morrb  certamente. 
Per  neente  mi  cangio  '1  suo  talento, 


GIUDICE   GUIDO    DI    MESSINA  41 

ond'  6  tormento  e  vivo  in  gran  dottanza, 
e  son  di  molte  pene  sofferente. 

Poi  sofferente  sono  al  suo  piacere, 
di  bon  cor  1'  amo  e  di  pura  leanza, 

e  servo  umilemente; 
perche  meglio  m'  e  per  ella  male  avere 
che  per  un'  altra  bene  con  baldanza, 

tanto  [le]  son  ubidente. 
Ardente  son  di  far  suo  piacimento, 
nk  mai  n'  6  abento  d'  aver  sua  membranza 
in  quella  in  cui  disio  spessamente. 

Ispessamente  disio  e  son  al  perire, 
membrando  che  m'  a  messo  in  ubrianza 

1'  amorosa  piagiente. 
Sanza  misfatto  nom  dovea  punire, 
ne  far  partenza  della  nostra  amanza, 

per  tanto  e  canosciente, 
Temente  son,  non  ho  comfortamento, 
poi  valimento  nom  da,  ma  pesanza, 
e  fallami  di  tutto  suo  convento. 

Convento  ben  mi  fece  di  valere, 

e  donommi  una  gioia  per  rimembranza, 

ch'  i'  stesse  allegramente ; 
or  la  m'  a  tolta  per  troppo  savere, 
dice  ch'  in  altra  parte  6  mia  'ntendanza. 

Io  so  veracemente 
non  sente  lo  mio  core  fallimento, 
non  6  talento  di  far  misleanza 
inver  di  voi  per  altra  al  mio  vivente. 

Vivente  donna  non  creo  che  partire 
potesse  lo  mio  cor  di  sua  possanza, 
non  fosse  si  avenente, 


42  GIUDICE  GUI  DO    DI    MESSINA 

perch'  io  lasciar  volesse  d'  ubidire 
quella  che  presgio  e  belleze  inavanza; 

fa  mi  stare  sovente 
la  mente  d'  amoroso  pensamento. 
Non  agio  abento,  tanto  '1  cor  mi  lanza 
co  li  riguardi  degli  occhi  ridente. 


(V.R.V.     Nan.) 


XXIII 


Gioiosamente  canto, 
e  vivo  in  allegranza, 
ca  per  la  vostra  amanza, 
madonna,  gran  gioia  sento ; 
s'  eo  travagliai  cotanto 
or'  agio  riposanza, 
ben  agia  disianza, 
che  vene  a  compimento ; 
ca  tutto  mal  talento  torna  in  gioi' 
quandunque  la  speranza  vien  dipoi, 
ond'  io  m'  allegro  di  grande  ardimento; 
un  giorno  viene  che  val  pin  di  cento. 

Ben  passa  rosa  e  fiore 

la  vostra  fresca  cera 

luciente  pin  che  spera, 

e  la  bocca  aulitosa 

piu  rende  aulente  aulore 

che  non  fa  una  fera 

c'  a  nome  la  pantera, 

che  'n  India  nasce  ed  usa. 
Sovra  ogn'  altr'  amorusa  mi  parete 
fontana,  che  m'  a  tolta  ognunque  sete, 
perch'  io  son  vostro  piu  leale  e  fino 
che  non  e  al  suo  singnore  1'  assessino. 


GIUDICE   GUIDO   DI    MESSINA  43 

Come  fontana  piena, 

che  spande  tutta  quanta, 

cosi  lo  mio  cor  canta 

si  fortemente  e  abonda 

de  la  gran  gioia  che  mena, 

per  voi,  madonna,  tanta 

ch'  e  eiertamente  tanta ; 

non  e  dove  s'  asconda, 
e  piu  c'  augello  in  fronda  son  gioioso, 
e  ben  posso  cantar  piii  amoroso 
che  non  canta  giamai  null'  altro  amante, 
uso  di  bene  amare  6  trapassante. 

Ben  mi  degio  allegrare 

d'  amor  che  'mprimamente 

ristrinse  la  mia  mente 

d'  amar  voi,  donna   fina ; 

ma  piu  degio  laudare 

voi,  donna  canosciente, 

donde  lo  mio  cor  sente 

la  gioia  ch'  in  voi  non  fina. 
Ca  se  tutta  Messina  fosse  mia, 
senza  voi,  donna,  nente  mi  faria; 
quando  con  voi  a  sol  mi  sto,  avenente, 
ogn'  altra  gioia  mi  par  che  sia  neiente. 

La  vostra  gran  beltate 
m'  a  fatto,  donna,  amare, 
e  lo  vostro  ben  fare 
m'  a  fatto  cantadore ; 
ca  s'  eo  canto  la  state 
quando  la  fiore  appare, 
nom  poria  ubriare 
cantar  a  la  fredore. 


44  GIUDICE   GUIDO    DI    MESSINA 

Cosl  mi  tene  amore  lo  cor  gaudente, 
che  voi  sete  la  mia  donna  valente; 
sollazzo  e  gioco  mai  non  vene  mino, 
cosl  v'  adoro  come  servo  inchino. 

(V.R.V.     Nan.) 

MAZZEO  DI  RICO  DI  MESSINA 
XXIV 

Lo  gran  valor  e  lo  pregio  amoroso 

ch'  e  in  voi,  donna  valente, 
tuttor  m'  aluma  d'  amoroso  foco 
che  mi  dispera  e  fami  pauroso, 

com'  om  che  da  neiente 
volesse  pervenire  in  alto  loco. 

Ma  s'  egli  e  destinato 
moltipricar  lo  folle  pensamento, 
e  la  ventura  gli  da  piacimento 
dello  gran  bene  c'  a  desiderato. 

Cosl  pensando  a  la  vostra  beltate 

amor  mi  fa  paura, 
tanto  siete  alta  e  gaia  ed  avenente, 
e  tanto  piu  che  voi  mi  disdegnate. 

Ma  questo  m'  asicura, 
che  dentro  1'  agua  nasce  foco  arzente, 

e  par  contra  natura. 
Cosl  poria  la  vostra  disdegnanza 
tornar  in  amorosa  pietanza, 
se  '1  volesse  la  mia  bona  ventura. 

Madonna,  se  del  vostro  amor  son  priso 

non  vi  paia  fereze 
ne  riprendete  gli  occhi  inamorati. 
Guardate  lo  vostro  amoroso  viso, 

le  angeliche  belleze, 


MAZZEO   DI   RICO   DI   MESSINA  45 

e  P  adorneze  e  la  vostra  beltate ; 

e  sarete  sicura 
che  le  vostre  belleze  mi  convita 
per  forza,  come  fa  la  calamita 
quando  1'  aguglia  tira  per  natura. 

Certo  ben  fece  amore  dispietanza, 

che  di  voi,  donna  altera, 
m'  inamorai,  poi  non  v'  e  in  piacimento. 
Or  come  troveraggio  in  voi  pietanza? 

che  non  vegio  manera 
com'  io  vi  posso  dire  cib  ch'  io  sento. 

Perb,  donna  avenente, 
per  Dio  vi  priego,  quando  mi  vedete 
guardatemi,  cosi  conoscierete 
per  la  mia  ciera  cib  che  mio  cor  sente. 

Si  namoratamente  m'  a  infiammato 

la  vostra  diletanza, 
ch'  io  non  mi  credo  giamai  snamorare; 
che  lo  cristallo  poich'  e  ben  gielato 

non  pub  aver  speranza 
ch'  ello  potesse  neve  ritornare. 

E  poich'  amor  m'  a  dato 
(interamente)  in  vostra  potestate, 
(donna,)  agiatene  alcuna  pietate, 
accioch'  agiate  in  voi  tutto  valore. 

(V.R.V.     Mon.    Val.) 

XXV 

Sei  anni  b  travagliato 
in  voi,  madonna,  amare, 
e  fede  v'  b  portato 
piu  assai  che  divisare 


46  MAZZEO   DI   RICO   DI    MESSINA 

ne  dire  vi  poria. 

Ben  b  caro  acatato 

lo  vostro  inamorare, 

che  m'  a  cosi  inganato 

con  suo  dolce  parlare 

che  gia  nol  mi  credia. 

Ben  mi  men6  follia 

di  fantin  veramente, 

che  crede  fermamente 

pigliar  lo  sol  nell'  agua  splendiente, 

e  stringere  si  crede  lo  splendore 

della  candela  ardente ; 

ond'  ello  immantenente 

si  parte  e  piange,  sentendo  1'  ardore. 


S'  eo  tardi  mi  son  adato 

de  lo  meo  follegiare, 

tengnomene  beato, 

poi  ch'  io  sono  a  lasciare 

lo  mal  che  mi  stringia; 

che  1'  omo  ch'  e  malato, 

poiche  torna  in  sanare, 

lo  male  c'  a  passato 

e  lo  gran  travagliare 

tutto  mette  in  obria. 

Oi  lasso,  ch'  io  credia, 

donna,  perfettamente 

che  vostri  assetamenti 

passassero  giacinti  stralucenti; 

or  veggio  bene  che  '1  vostro  colore 

di  vetro  e  fermamente, 

che  fanno  sagiamente 

li  mastri  contrafare  alio  lavore. 


MAZZEO   DI    RICO   DI   MESSINA  47 

Isperanza  m'  a  'nganato, 

e  fatto  tanto  errare, 

com'  omo  c'  a  giucato 

e  crede  guadagnare 

e  perde  cio  c'  avia. 

Or  veggio  ch'  e  provato 

cio  c'  audo  contare, 

c'  assai  a.  guadagnato 

chi  si  fa  scompagnare 

da  mala  compagnia. 

A  meve  adivenia 

como  avene  sovente, 

chi  impronta  buonamente 

lo  suo  a  mal  debitor  e  scanoscente ; 

impercio  ch'  e  malvagio  pagatore 

vaci  omo  spessamente 

e  nom  pub  aver  neiente, 

ond'  a  la  fine  ne  fa  richiamore. 

(V.R.V.  Val.) 

PREZIVALLE  DORIA  (?) 
XXVI 

Come  lo  giorno,  quando  e  dal  maitino, 
chiaro  e  sereno  e  bello  e  da  vedere, 
perche  gli  ausgielli  fanno  lor  latino 
cantare  fino,  e  par  dolze  a  udire ; 
e  poi  ver  mezzo  il  giorno  cangia  e  muta, 
e  torna  in  piogia  la  dolze  veduta 

che  si  mostrava, 
lo  pellegrino,  che  sicuro  andava 
per  1'  allegreza  dello  giorno  bello, 
diventa  fello,  pieno  di  pesanza ; 
cosi  m'  a  fatto  amor  con  sua  possanza. 


48  PREZIVALLE   DORIA 

Cosi  m'  a  fatto  amor  certanamente, 
ca  'mprimamente  d'  amor  mi  mostrava 
sollazzo  e  tutto  ben  de  la  piu  giente, 
poi  per  neiente  lo  cor  mi  cangiava ; 
ch'  io  mi  credea  laudar  tutta  mia  vita, 
avere  grande  ben  di  sua  partita, 

e  stare  baldo; 
quella  che  avanza  giacinto  e  smeraldo, 
ed  ave  le  belleze  ond'  io  disvio; 
or  sento  e  veio  che  gran  follia  lo  tira, 
chi  lauda  il  giorno  avanti  che  sia  sera. 

Per  voi,  madonna,  con  tante  belleze 
senza  fereze  lo  mio  cor  sotrasse, 
e  si  m*  a  preso  e  tene  V  adorneze, 
vostre  belleze,  che  '1  mio  core  atrasse. 
Perche  mi  siete  fatta  si  orgolgliosa, 
oi,  gientil  donna  bene  aventurosa, 

se  (ben)    pensate 
come  s'  avene  a  donna  in  veritate, 
mostrare  amore,  e  mettere  in  errore 
lo  suo  servente  e  si  fedele  amante  ? 
Tu  doni  e  tolli  come  fa  lo  fante. 


(V.R.V.    Nan.) 


FOLCALCHIERI  DI  SIENA 

XXVII 

Tutto  lo  mondo  vive  sanza  guerra, 
ed  io  nom  pace  aver  posso  neiente. 

O  Deo,  como  faraggio? 
O  Deo,  como  sostenemi  la  terra  ? 
E'  par  ch'  io  viva  in  noia  de  la  gente  ; 

ogn'  omo  m'  e  salvagio. 


FOLCALCHIERI    DI   SIENA  49 

Nom  paiono  li  fiori 
per  me,  com  gia.  soleano, 
e  gli  auscielli  per  am  ore 
dolzi  versi  faceano  agli  albori. 

E  quand'  eo  vegio  gli  altri  cavalieri 
arme  portare,  e  d'  amore  parlando, 

ed  io  tutto  mi  dolglio; 
sollazzo  m'  e  fallito  ne'  pensieri ; 
la  gente  mi  riguardano  parlando 

s'  io  son  quel  ch'  esser  solglic. 

Nom  so  cio  ch'  io  mi  sia, 

ne  so  perche  m'  avene; 

mort'  e  la  vita  mia, 
tomato  m'  e  lo  bene  (nel)  dolori. 

Ben  credo  ch'  eo  fenisco  e  non  conenza 
e  lo  meo  male  nom  poria  contare 

ne  le  pene  ch'  io  sento. 
Li  drappi  d'  investire  non  m'  agenza 
ne  bono  non  mi  sa  lo  manicare, 

cosi  vivo  in  tormento. 

Non  mi  so  onde  fugire, 

ne  a  cui  m'  acomandare; 

convenemi  sofrire,  * 

tutte  le  pene  amare  6  in  dolzori. 

Io  credo  bene  che  1'  amore  sia; 
altro  deo  non  m'  a.  gia  a  giudicare 

cosi  crudelemente 
che  1'  amor  e  di  tale  sengnoria 
che  le  due  parti  a  se  vole  tirare, 

e  '1  terzo  e  de  la  giente. 

Ed  io  per  ben  servire, 

s'  io  ragione  trovasse, 

non  doveria  fallire 


So  FOLCALCHIERI   DI   SIENA 

a  lui,  cosl  chiamasse  per  lo  cori : 
Dolce  madonna,  poi  ch'  io  mi  moragio 
niun  troverai  si  bene  ti  servire, 

tutt'  a  tua  volontate ; 
ch*  unque  non  volli  ne  voglio  ne  voraggio, 
se  non  di  tutto  [a]  far  a  (far)  piaciere 

a  la  vostra  amistate. 

Merze  di  me  vi  prenda, 

che  non  mi  sfidi  amando ; 

vostra  grazia  discenda, 
perb  oh'  eo  ardo  e  inciendo,  (non)  da  fori. 

(V.R.V.    Nan.    Mon.) 

TIBERTO  GALLIZIANI  DI  PISA 
XXVIII 

Biasmomi  dell'  amore 
che  mi  dona  ardimento 
d'  amar  si  fina  amanza ; 
di  dire  6  tal  timore 
che  sol  di  pensamento 
mi  trovo  in  disvianza; 
ma  s'  eo  faccio  acordanza 
di  dire,  e  poi  mi  scordo, 
tanto  infra  me  mi  stordo 
per  la  gran  dubitanza; 
perd  faccio  sembianza 
al  core  che  sia  sordo 
che  mi  dice,  e  m'  accordo 
che  dimandi  pietanza. 

Ma  tutto  cib  mi  mente, 
che  'ntenda  in  tal  parlare, 
che  1'  altro  cor  m'  intenza, 
e  dice :  Oi  me  dolente ! 


TIBERTO   GALLIZIANI    DI   PISA  51 

nom  puoi  tanto  durare 
che  vinche  per  sofrenza. 
Se  fai  di  me  partenza 
da  lo  suo  bel  piaciere, 
gia  mai  non  poria  avere 
gioia,  ma  pur  doglienza; 
che  tanto  a  di  valenza, 
ca  melglio  m'  e  sofrire 
le  pene  e  li  martiri 
che  'nver  lei  far  fallenza. 

Cosi  amor  m'  a  miso 

in  due  contenzione; 

ciascuna  m'  e  guerera; 

nell'  una  m'  adiviso 

di  dire  mia  ragione,  t' 

e  1'  altra  mi  par  fera. 

Ma  s'  i'  faccio  preghera, 

di  lei  merze  pensando  — 

ca  eo  no  le  dimando, 

perch'  ell'  e  tanto  altera. 

Perb  in  tale  manera 

d'  amor  mi  vo  blasmando, 

ca  si  mi  stringe  amando, 

dottando  ch'  io  nom  pera. 

Ben  v'  amo  follemente 
s'  io  pero  per  dottanza 
di  dir  lo  meo  penare; 
e  moro  certamente 
s'  io  faccio  piu  tardanza 
tante  pene  a  portare. 
C  amor  nom  vol  mostrare 
le  pene  ch'  io  tant'  agio 

E  2 


52  TIBERTO   GALLIZIANI    DI   PISA 

a  ella  per  cui  moragio 
tuttor  per  lei  amare; 
ond'  eo  mi  volglio  provare 
di  dirle  1'  amor  ch'  agio 
a  lo  suo  sengnoragio, 
e  nol  vo  piu  cielare. 

Per6  mi  torno  a  vui, 

piagiente  creatura, 

ch'  io  sia  per  voi  intiso ; 

che  gia.  nom  posso  plui 

sofrir  la  pena  dura 

d'  amor,  che  m'  a  conquiso 

S'  eo  perd  son  mispreso, 

1'  amore  d'  el  biasmate, 

e  le  vostre  bieltate 

che  m'  a  d'  amor  si  priso. 

Mercie,  piagiente  viso, 

prenda  a  voi  pietate 

di  meve,  e  non  mostrate 

ch'  io  sia  da  voi  diviso. 

Cierto,  madonna  mia, 
ben  seria  convenenza 
c'  amore  voi  stringnesse, 
che  tanto  par  che  sia 
in  voi  plena  plasenza 
ch'  ella  renda  manchesse. 
Perb  se  voi  tenesse 
amor  distrettamente 
ben  so  che  doblamente 
varrian  vostre  bellesse ; 
ed  anco  a  vostre  altesse 
blasmo  saria  parvente, 


TIBERTO   GALLIZIANI   DI   PISA  53 

(V.R.V.   Mon.) 


poi  siete  si  piagiente, 
s'  amor  in  voi  fallisse. 


XXIX 

Gia  lungiamente,  amore, 

son  stato  in  mia  balia, 
e  non  curava  d'  altro  sengnoragio ; 

or  sono  in  tal  tenore 

che  gia.  mai  nom  poria 
partir,  si  m'  a  distretto  il  mio  coragio,  • 

e  lo  suo  bel  visagio, 
ch'  e  d'  ongni  bielta,  sagio,  m'  infiamao, 
e  tutti  gli  altri  pensier  mi  levao. 

Le  sue  bellezze  tante 

che  porta  in  viso,  e  mante, 
tuttor  s'  adoblan,  tant'  an  di  plagienza, 

mi  fan  piu  (fino)  amante, 

che  gioia  paion  le  pene, 
e  piu  d'  amar  mi  cresce  benvolenza, 

di  qu(ella)  c'  6  temenza 
di  dir  la  mia  volglienza,  e  voria  dire, 
perche  giamai  non  ei  tanto  d'  ardire. 

Deo !   c'  or  avess'  io  tanto 

d'  ardire,  ch'  io  contasse 
le  mie  pene  a  la  mia  donna  valente. 

Forse  averebbe  alquanto 

merce,  ancor  non  m'  amasse, 
che  per  sembianti  poria  star  gaudente'; 

e  nolle  steria  giente, 
poi  ch'  e  di  me  temente,  s'  io  morisse; 
perch'  io  voria  ch'  ella  mio  mal  savesse. 


54  TIBERTO   GALLIZIANI   DI   PISA 

Oime,  che  dich'  io  folle? 

or  gia  m'  acolglie  e  inora, 
ancor  nol  faccia  d'  amorosa  intesa; 

per  tanto  non  mi  stolle 

lo  sguardar  ch'  assicura, 
e  la  speranza  gia  non  m'  e  difesa 

di  quella  bene  apresa; 
che  d'  amar  e  si  accesa  la  mia  mente, 
ch'  io  nolle  poria  dir,  ne  star  taciente. 

E  se  lo  taccio,  pero, 

e  se  dico,  6  dottanza, 
non  saccio  s'  a  lei  piacie  o  sia  spiaciere; 

ond'  io  merze  le  chero 

che  nol  torni  a  pesanza, 
perch'  io  voglio  di  morte  guarentire; 

che  piu  per  suo  servire 
che  gia  d'  altro  volere  n'  6  talento  ; 
perb  s'  io  moro,  ell'  a  lo  perdimento. 


GALLETTO  DI  PISA 

XXX 

Credea  essere,  lasso ! 
come  quel  che  si  parte 
di  ci6  che  piu  gli  e  danno; 
or  son  condotto,  lasso, 
poco  non  ebbi  parte. 
Trapassat'  e  piu  d'  anno 
come  stei  ad  esser  servo 
di  voi,  donna,  a  cui  servo 


(V.R.V.) 


GALLETTO   DI   PISA  55 

di  bon  cor,  ci6  m'  e  aviso. 
Si  siete  adorna  e  giente, 
fate  stordir  la  giente 
quando  voi  mira  viso. 

Ed  eo  ponendo  mente 
la  vostra  bella  ciera, 
ch'  e  bianca  piu  che  riso, 
feristemi  alia  mente, 
ond'  ardo  piu  che  ciera; 
levastemi  lo  riso. 
Le  man  vostre  e  la  gola 
cogli  occhi  mi  dan  gola ; 
tanto  a  veder  s'  io  miro, 
mostran  che  1'  altre  membra 
vaglian  piu,  ci6  mi  membra 
pur  di  tanto  mi  miro. 

Volea  veder,  non  pare 
nessuna  donna  roma 
quanto  voi  bella  sia ; 
non  trovai  vostra  pare, 
ciercato  infino  a  Roma; 
grazia  e  merze  vi  sia. 
Le  vostre  bielta  sole 
che  lucon  piu  che  sole 
m'  anno  d'  am  ore  punto, 
ch'  io  n'  era  sordo  e  muto ; 
or  me  ne  vesto  e  muto 
e  cantone  ogni  punto. 

Lo  meo  cor  non  fa  fallo, 
se  da  me  si  diparte 
e  salesi  in  voi  al  pe  ; 
ma  mio  conforto  fallo, 


56  GALLETTO   DI    PISA 

non  e  rn  loco  ne  in  parte 
e  come  arcione  in  alpe 
m'  a  piu  legato  e  serra; 
e  poi  mi  talglia  e  serra, 
e  non  vol  ch'  io  sormonte. 
Lo  vostro  amor  che  colpa 
a  meve  sanza  colpa 
fa  m'  esser  pian  di  monte. 

Lo  vostro  amor  mi  cura, 
di  vano  amor  m'  a  mondo, 
e  son  piu  fermo  e  saggio 
poi  che  misi  in  voi  cura, 
sovrana  d'  esto  mondo 
che  d'  amor  siete  saggio. 
S'  al  vostro  amor  m'  aresto, 
assai  piu  sottil  resto. 
Si  lega  savio  e  matto : 
di  bella  donna  gallo, 
como  perdice  gallo, 
c'  a  ciascun  ne  do  matto. 


CV.R.V.  Mon.) 


LEONARDO  DEL  GUALLACO  DI  PISA 
XXXI 

Si  come  il  pescio  a  nasso 
ch'  e  preso  a  falsa  parte 
son  quei  c'  amar  s'  adanno ; 
peggior  gittan  che  lasso. 
Salamon  che  seppe  arte 
disse  lo  mal  che  danno; 
al  suo  senno  m'  asservo, 
con  amor  non  conservo, 


LEONARDO    DEL  GUALLACO   DI   PISA      57 

che  fe  parlar  d'  aviso 
lo  profeta  piagiente, 
forse  che  'nd'  e  piangiente 
fora  di  paraviso. 

Se  lo  scritto  non  mente, 
da  femina  treciera 
si  fu  Merlin  diriso, 
e  Sanson  malamente 
tradilo  una  leciera ; 
Troia  strusse  Pariso 
per  Alena  pargola, 
si  che  mai  non  a  gola, 
si  la  strusse  1'  amiro. 
Quando  d'  Eva  mi  membra 
null'  altr'  al  cor  mi  membra, 
si  la  rompe  mio  smiro. 

Chi  vuol  da  lor  campare, 
tagli  la  lor  paroma 
ch'  e  piena  di  falsia, 
che  'nfin  che  puo  atrapare 
allor  puo  dir  c'  a  Roma 
credi  vogar  'n  Asia. 
Ed  il  percio  lassole, 
ciascun'  e  tal  qual  sole ; 
esto  senno  no  spunto 
e  non  me  ne  rimuto 
ne  'n  versi  ne  rimuto : 
sempre  piu  ci  e  propunto. 

Chi  s'  inamora  in  fallo, 
udit'  5  in  sagia  parte, 
mant'  a  di  male  palpe ; 
chi  buon  senn'  a  rio  fallo 


58      LEONARDO   DEL  GUALLACO   DI   PISA 

e  com  ben  si  comparte, 
vive  come  'n  mar  salpe. 
Foil'  e  che  quivi  serra, 
che  s'  egli  e  'n  alta  serra 
uop'  e  c'  a  basso  smonte. 
Cui  amor  fer  mal  colpa, 
tanto  val  c'  a  me  scolpa 
amore ;  guai  chi  amonte. 

La  chiara  aira  fue  scura 
a  giglio  More  ed  asmondo, 
lo  lor  detto  falso  agio, 
e  chi  vi  s'  asicura 
guardino  a  quei,  c'  al  mondo 
vedran  d'  amor  lo  saggio. 
Serventes,  a  dir  esto, 
va,  che  per  servo  i'  resto, 
piii  puro  c'  auro  matto, 
a  quei  c'  a  nom  di  Gallo ; 
se  Dio  di  mal  tragallo, 
non  creda  a  vista  matto. 

Qual  uomo  e  d'  amor  preso 

arrivat'  e  a  mal  porto, 

allor  non  e  'n  sua  baglia. 

Dal  terzoletto  6  apreso, 

a  sua  guisa  mi  porto, 

s'  alcuna  mi  s'  inbaglia. 

Prendo  del  suo  mestieri 

quello  che  m'  e  mestieri, 

e  per  altro  non  1'  amo; 

per  vista  che  mi  faccia, 

ne  per  bielta  di  faccia, 

piu  non  abocco  1'  amo. 

(V.R.V.     Mon.) 


59 


BETTO  METTIFUCCO  DI  PISA 
XXXII 

Amore,  perche  m'  ai 

distretto  a  tal  misura, 

ch'  io  nom  posso  contare 
ben  le  mie  pene  a  cui  mi  fora  in  grado? 

Ardir  nom  posso  mai 

di  dir,  tant'  b  paura, 

cosi  mi  fa  dottare 
di  perder  quell'  ond'  io  allegro  vado. 

Molt'  6  grande  alegrezza 

della  dolze  contezza 

c'  agio  co  1'  avenente, 
che  par  le  sia  piagiente  mia  contanza ; 

perb  ne  dotto  forte, 

che  paura  b  di  morte 

che  no  la  dispiacesse 
s'  io  piu  su  le  diciesse  c'  agio  usanza. 

Non  veggio  se  non  vengno 

lo  splendiente  viso, 

che  sguarda  con  pietanza 
e  parla  dolciemente  con  piaciere ; 

tuttor  con  voi  mi  tengno 

e  non  ne  son  diviso, 

servendo  in  isperanza 
son  gaio  e  fresco  e  rafino  in  servire. 

Ne  lo  meo  pensamento 

posso  uscir  di  tormento 

pensando  a  farvi  onore, 
donna  di  gran  valore,  e  pienamente ; 


60  BETTO    METTIFUCCO   DI   PISA 

che  per  lo  vostro  bene 
mi  pare  uscir  di  pene, 
cosi  forte  mi  piacie  — 
piu  che  lo  meo  non  facie,  fermamente. 

Dunqua  como  faragio  ? 

poi  la  mia  malatia 

non  1'  auso  adimostrare 
a  chi  mi  pud  guerire  e  far  gioioso. 

Ben  credo,  ne  moragio 

di  corto  qualche  dia, 

e  non  credo  campare, 
se  non  m'  aiuto,  lo  viso  lazioso 

per  cui  piango  e  sospiro 

tuttor  quando  la  smiro; 

e  dico  inver  di  mei : 
Lasso,  perche  colei  amai  io  tanto  ? 

e  poi  riprendo  il  dire 

c'  6  fatto,  e  dico  :    Oi  Sire 

Deo,  cotal  finita 
faciesse  la  mia  vita,  e  fora  santo ! 

Madonna,  penso  forte 

de  la  mia  natura, 

che  passa  1'  asesino 
del  velglio  de  la  montagna  disperato, 

che  per  mettersi  a  morte 

passa(sse)  in  aventura; 

e  gli  cosi  latino, 
non  gli  e  gravoso  ch'  egli  e  ingannato; 

che  '1  velglio  a  lo  'mprimero 

lo  tene  in  bel  verdero, 

[e]  falli  parer  che  sia 
quel  che  fa  notte  e  dia  di  bon  core; 


BETTO   METTIFUCCO   DI   PISA  61 

ma  io  ched  6  veduto 
lo  mondo,  e  conosciuto, 
agio  ferma  credenza 
che  la  vostra  potenza  sia  maggiore. 

S'  eo  sono  inamorato 

cosi  in  dismisuranza, 

credo  faro  aquisto 
due  cose  ond'  io  fallo  e  sono  sagio  ; 

sagio  son,  che  fermato 

son  senza  dubitanza 

la  ove  compose  Cristo 
belleze  tante  c'  altrui  fanno  oltragio ; 

che  son  si  splendi'ente 

ch'  io  nom  posso  neiente 

contarle  bene  e  dire, 
che  fa  tutto  avenire  a  chi  la  guarda  ; 

fallo,  c'  amo  1'  altezza 

somma  di  gientilezza, 

al  mio  parer  che  sia, 
in  cui  tutto  m'  avia  arimembrando. 

(V.R.V.    Nan.) 


ODO  DELLE  COLONNE  DI  MESSINA 
XXXIII 

Oi  lassa  namorata ! 
contar  volglio  la  mia  vita, 
e  dir  ongne  fiata 
come  1'  amor  m'  invita ; 
ch'  io  son  sanza  pecata 
d'  assai  pene  guernita 


62        ODO   DELLE   COLONNE    DI   MESSINA 

per  uno  c'  amo  e  volglio 
e  no  1'  agio  in  mia  balglia 
si  com'  avere  solglio; 
perb  pato  travaglia 
ed  or  mi  mena  orgolglio, 
lo  cor  mi  fende  e  talglia. 

Oi  lassa  tapinella  ! 
come  1'  amor  m'  a  prisa, 
che  lo  suo  amor  m'  apella 
quello  che  m'  a  conquisa. 
La  sua  persona  bella 
tolto  m'  a  gioco  e  risa, 
ed  ami  messa  in  pene 
ed  in  tormenti  forte. 
Mai  non  credo  aver  bene 
se  non  m'  acorre  morte  ; 
aspettola  che  vene, 
tragami  d'  esta  sorte. 

Lassa,  che  mi  dicea, 
quando  m'  avea  in  cielato : 
'  Di  te,  o  vita  mea, 
mi  tengno  piu  pagato 
ca  s'  i'  avess'  im  ballia 
lo  mondo  a  sengnorato.' 
Ed  or  m'  a  a  disdengnanza, 
e  fa  mi  scanoscienza ; 
par  c'  agia  ei  d'  altra  amanza ; 
o  Dio,  chi  lo  m'  intenza, 
mora  di  mala  lanza, 
e  sanza  penitenza. 

O  ria  ventura  e  fera  ! 
tra  mi  d'  esto  penare ; 


ODO    DELLE   COLONNE   DI    MESSINA       63 

fa  tosto  ch'  io  nom  pera, 
se  non  mi  dengna  amare 
lo  meo  sire,  che  m'  era 
dolze  lo  suo  parlare, 
ed  ami  namorata 
di  se  oltre  misura. 
Or  a  lo  cor  cangiata, 
saciate  se  m'  e  dura ; 
si  come  disperata 
mi  metto  a  la  ventura. 

Va,  canzonetta  fina, 
al  buono  aventuroso, 
ferilo  a  la  corina 
se  '1  truovi  disdegnoso ; 
nol  ferir  di  rapina, 
che  sia  troppo  gravoso; 
ma  ferila  chi  '1  tene, 
ancidela  sen  fallo ; 
poi  saccio  c'  a  me  vene 
lo  viso  del  cristallo 
e  sarb  fuor  di  pene, 
avro  alegreza  e  gallo. 


(V.R.V.     Nan.) 


RUGGIERONE  DI  PALERMO 
XXXIV 

Oi  lasso !   nom  pensai 

si  forte  mi  parisse 
lo  dipartire  di  madonna  mia; 

da  poi  che  m'  alontai 

ben  paria  ch'  io  morisse, 
membrando  di  sua  dolze  compangnia ; 


64  RUGGIERONE    HI    PALERMO 

e  gia  mai  tanta  pena  non  durai 
se  non  quando  a  la  nave  adimorai, 
ed  or  mi  credo  morir  ciertamente 
se  da  lei  no  ritorno  prestamente. 

Tutto  quanto  eo  vio 

si  forte  mi  dispiacie 
che  non  mi  lascia  in  posa  in  nessun  loco ; 

si  mi  stringe  [e]  desio 

che  nom  posso  aver  pacie, 
e  fa  mi  reo  parere  riso  e  gioco ; 
membrandomi  suo  dolze  sengnamente 
tutt'  i  diporti  m'  escono  di  mente, 
e  non  mi  vanto  ch'  io  disdotto  sia, 
se  non  la  ov'  e  la  dolze  donna  mia. 

O  Deo,  como  fui  matto, 

quando  mi  dipartive 
la  ov'  era  stato  in  tanta  dengnitate; 

e  s'  io  caro  1'  acatto, 

e  sciolglio  come  neve, 
pensando  c'  altri  1'  aia  im  potestate, 
e  di  me  pare  mille  anni  la  dia 
ched  io  ritorni  a  voi,  madonna  mia, 
lo  reo  pensiero  si  forte  m'  atassa 
che  rider  ne  giucare  non  mi  lassa. 

Canzonetta  gioiosa, 
va  la,  fuor  di  Soria, 
a  quella  c'  a  lo  meo  cor  in  presgione; 
di'  a  la  piu  amorosa 
ca  per  sua  cortesia 
rimembri  de  lo  suo  servidore, 


RUGGIERONE   DI   PALERMO  65 

quelli  che  per  suo  amore  va  penando 
mentre  non  faccio  tutto  '1  suo  comando ; 
e  priegalami  per  la  sua  bontate 
ch'  ella  mi  degia  tenere  lealtate. 


(V.R.V.     Nan.) 


XXXV 


Ben  mi  degio  alegrare, 

e  far  versi  d'  amore, 

ca  cui  son  servidore 
m'  a  molto  grandemente  meritato ; 

non  si  poria  contare 

lo  gram  bene  e  1'  aunore ; 

ben  agia  lo  martore 
ch'  io  per  lei  lungiamente  agio  durato. 
Per6  consilglio  questo  a  chi  e  amadori, 
non  disperi,  ma  sia  buon  sofridori, 
e  lor  no  'ncresca  la  gran  dimoranza  ; 
chi  vole  compiere  su'  atendanza 

viva  a  speranza, 
che  non  mi  par  che  sia  di  valimento, 
da  ch'  omo  vene  tosto  a  compimento. 

Ben  6  veduto  manti 

a  chi  par  forte  amare, 

e  non  vole  penare, 
e  fa  come  lo  nibbio  ciertamente; 

ch'  egli  e  bello  e  possanti 

e  non  vole  pigliare, 

per  non  troppo  affanare, 
se  non  cosa  quale  sia  parisciente; 
cosi  fa  quelli  c'  a  povero  core, 
di  soferire  pene  per  amore ; 
e  gia  sa  egli  ca  null'  altr'  amistanza 

SUTLER  F 


66  RUGGIERONE   DI   PALERMO 

non  guadangna  omo  mai  per  vilitanza. 

Sia  rimembranza, 
chi  vole  amor  di  donna  viva  a  spene, 
e  contesi  in  gran  gioia  tutte  le  pene. 

Cosi  dovemo  fare 

come  il  buon  marinaro, 

che  corre  tempo  amaro 
e  per  affanno  gia  non  s'abandona; 

pria  s'  adastia  al  ben  fare 

ancor  che  li  sia  caro, 

mentrunque  a  buon  dinaro 
non  si  ricrede  della  sua  persona; 

vede  la  morte  ed  a  sempre  speranza, 

e  sta  in  tormento  e  dassi  buon  comforto , 

finche  campa  il  rio  tempo  e  giunge  a  porto; 

ed  in  diporto 
nolli  rimembra  poi  di  quelle  pene. 
Dolcie  e  lo  male  ond'  om  aspetta  bene. 

(V.R.V.    Mon.) 

ANONYMOUS 

XXXVI 

Dispietata  morte  e  fera, 

cierto  (se')  da  biasmare, 
che  non  ti  vale  preghera 

ne  merze  chiamare. 
Con  ti  facca  si *  se'  dura, 
che  d'  auzider  non  ai  cura 

quale  t'  e  in  talento, 
e  per  sollazi  rancura 

dai  e  pene  e  tormento. 
1  qy.  Con  te  fa,  ca  si. 


ANONYMOUS  67 

Di  te  mi  blasmo  c'  ai  tolto 

il  gioco  e  V  alegreza ; 
morte  dura,  mio  diporto 

messo  ai  in  gran  tristeza, 
si  che  giamai  non  credia, 
lassa,  veder  quella  dia 

di  tanto  ismarimento 
c'  a  si  dolcie  compangnia 

faciesse  partimento. 

Dipartit'  ai,  micidera, 

lo  piu  verace  amore, 
che  tra  me  e  '1  piu  fino  era, 

Baldo  di  valore, 
in  cui  era  valimento, 
cortesia  ed  ardimento; 

fatt'  ai  grande  fallenza, 
c'  a  null'  om  rincrescimento 

faciea,  anzi  piagienza. 

A  ciascun  a  piagimento 

servia  e  co  leanza, 
e  a  nullo  ofendimento 

fe,  ne  soperchianza ; 
era  uomo  giovane  e  piano 
a  li  boni  ad  ongne  mano, 

e  tuttor  serventese, 
lo  gientil  Baldo,  sovrano 

di  terra  Scarlinese. 

Maladetta  sia  ad  ongnore 

colonna  maremmana, 
la  onde  vene  quel  dolore 

che  [gia]mai  no  risana 
f  2 


68  ANONYMOUS 

c'  auzise  la  persona  umana 

ch'  era  in  veritate 
di  tutte  bonta  fontana 

e  d'  ongne  [gientile]  umilitate. 

(V.R.V.    Mon.) 

XXXVII 

La  mia  vita  e  si  forte  e  dura  e  fera 
ch'  io  nom  posso  ne  viver  ne  morire, 
anzi  distrugo  come  foco  ciera, 
e  sto  com  om  che  non  si  pub  sentire, 
e  uscito  son  del  senno  la  ov'  era, 
e  cominciato  sono  ad  imfollire. 

[Ma]  ben  mi  poria  campare 

quella  per  cui  m'  avene 

tutto  questo  penare; 
per  bene  amare  lo  mio  cor  si  ritene. 

Merze  saria  sed  ella  m'  aiutasse, 
da  ch'  io  per  lei  son  cosi  giudicato, 
e  qualche  bon  conforto  mi  donasse, 
che  non  fosse  cosi  alapidato; 
pecato  saria  s'  ella  mi  lasasse 
esser  si  fortemente  condannato ; 

c'  a  Deo  non  trovo  aiuto 

ne  chi  mi  dar  conforto, 

ond'  io  sono  (accad)uto 
e  venuto  ne  sono  a  malo  porto. 

Se  madonna  sapesse  lo  martore 
e  li  tormenti  la  ove  son  tirato, 
ben  credo  mi  daria  lo  suo  amore, 
ch'  io  1'  b  si  fortemente  goleato, 
piu  di  null'  altra  cosa  mi  sta  in  core, 
si  ch'  io  non  b  riposo  in  nessun  lato. 


ANONYMOUS  69 

Tanto  mi  tien  distretto 
ch'  io  non  6  ballia ; 
isto  com'  om  scorn  fitto, 
sanza  <ri)  ditto  sono  in  mala  via. 

Or  com  faragio,  lasso,  adolorato? 
che  Dio  non  trovo  chi  mi  consigliare, 
di  quanto  mondo  quant'  agio  cercato? 
nullo  consiglio  nom  posso  trovare, 
a  tutti  [li]  miei  amici  sono  andato, 
dicon  che  non  mi  posson  aiutare ; 

se  non  quella  c'  a  valore 

di  darmi  morte  e  vita; 

senza  nullo  tenore 
lo  suo  amore  m'  e  manna  saporita. 

Va,  canzonetta  mia  fresca  e  novella, 
a  quella  che  di  tutt'  e  la  corona; 
va,  e  saluta  quella  alta  donzella, 
di  ch'  io  son  servo  della  sua  persona ; 
di,  che  per  suo  onor  questo  faccia  ella, 
tragami  delle  pene  che  mi  dona  ; 

seria  gran  conoscienza 

da  che  m'.a  cosi  preso, 

non  mi  lasci  in  perdenza, 
ch'  io  non  6  scienza,  in  tal  dolglia  m'  a  miso. 

(V.R.V.   Val.  as  by  G.  delle  C) 

XXXVIII 

Donna,  lo  fino  amore 

m'  a  tutto  si  compreso 
che  tutto  son  donato  a  voi  amare ; 

nom  pb  pensar  lo  core 

altro  c'  amore  acceso, 
e  come  melglio  vi  si  possa  dare 


70  ANONYMOUS 

E  cierto  lo  gioioso  cominzare 
isforza  1'  amorosa  mia  natura, 
ond'  io  mi  credo  assai  magnificato, 
e  fra  gli  amanti  in  gran  gioia  coronato. 

Eo  porto  alta  corona, 

poi  ch'  eo  vi  son  servente 
a  cui  mi  sembra  alto  regnar  servire; 

si  alta  gioia  mi  dona 

a  voi  star  ubidente, 
pregone  voi  che  '1  degnate  gradire. 
E  vero  ciertamente  credo  dire 
che  'nfra  le  donne  voi  siete  sovrana, 
d-  ogni  grazia  e  di  vertu  compiuta, 
per  cui  morir  d'  amor  mi  saria  vita.' 

Se  lingua  ciascun  membro 

del  corpo  si  faciesse, 
vostre  belleze  nom  poria  cantare; 

ad.  ogni  gioia  v'  assembro 

che  dicier  si  potesse, 
ci6  avete  bel  che  si  pu6  divisare. 
Molte  ci  a  belle  donne  e  d'  alto  affare; 
voi  soprastate  come  '1  ciel  la  terra; 
che  melglio  vale  aver  di  voi  speranza, 
.  che  d'  altre  donne  aver  ferma  ciertanza. 

Ancor  che  sia  gravezza 

lo  tormento  d'  amore, 
maggio  ca  bon  d'  amor  m'  asembra  bene; 

e  nulla  crudeleza 

pote  pensar  lo  core 
che  'n  voi  aveste  donna,  e  nom  s'  avene. 
Gioco  e  sollazo  me  sostene  in  pene, 
sperando  c'  avenir  pu6  la  gran  gioia; 


ANONYMOUS  71 

melglio  mi  sa  per  voi  mal  sostenere, 
che  compimento  d'  altra  gioia  avere. 

Madonna,  il  mio  penare 

per  fino  amor  gradisco, 
pensando  ch'  e  in  voi  gran  conoscienza; 

troppo  non  de'  durare 

1'  affanno  che  sofrisco, 
che  bon  sengnor  non  da  torta  sentenza. 
Compiutamente  e  'n  voi  tutta  valenza 
e  merito,  voi  siete  e  morte  e  vita ; 
piCi  vertudiosa  siete  in  meritare 
ch'  io  nom  posso  in  voi  servendo  amare. 


(V.R.V.) 


XXXIX 

Quando  la  primavera 
apar  1'  aulente  fiore, 
guardo  inver  la  rivera 
la  matina  agli  albore ; 
audo  gli  rausingnuoli 
dentro  dagli  albuscielli, 
e  fan  versi  novelli 
dentro  dagli  lor  cagiuoli, 
perche  d?  amore  spera. 

Spera(nza)  che  m'  a[i]  preso 
di  servir  1'  avenente, 
quella  col  chiaro  viso, 
alta  Stella  luciente  ; 
fior  sovr'  ogni  sovrana, 
conta  e  gaia  ed  adorna, 
in  cui  1'  amor  sogiorna, 
tu  c'  avanzi  Morgana, 
merze,  che  m'  ai  conquiso. 


7 2  ANONYMOUS 

Lo  suo  dolze  sembiante 
e  1'  amorosa  ciera 
tuttor  mi  sta  davante 
la  matina  e  la  sera; 
e  la  notte  dormendo 
ist6  con  madonna  mia, 
perch'  eo  dormir  vorria ; 
melglio  m'  e  dormir  gaudendo 
c'  aver  pensier  veghiante. 

S'  io  dormo,  in  mia  parvenza 
tuttor  1'  agio  im  ballia, 
e  lo  giorno  m'  intenza 
di  lei,  sembianti  invia. 
Mostramisi  guerrera, 
ma  non  e  per  sua  volglia, 
al  core  n'  6  gran  dolglia ; 
per  una  laida  ciera 
perdo  sua  benvolglienza. 

Ancor  tengno  speranza 
nel  vostro  franco  core, 
che  li  sia  rimembranza 
de  lo  suo  fino  amore. 
Ragion'  e  ch'  io  ne  canto, 
ancor  mi  faccia  orgolglio ; 
tuttor  son  quel  ch'  io  solglio, 
leale  e  fino  amante 
senza  falsa  sembianza. 

Lo  tempo  e  la  stasgione 
mi  comforta  di  dire 
novi  canti  d'  amore1 
per  madonna  servire ; 
se  madonna  discrede 
1  qy.  dard  ne. 


ANONYMOUS  73 

le  lingue  mal  parlanti, 
eo  le  far6  sembianti, 
com'  amo  a  dritta  fede 
e  senza  fallisgione. 

Dio  sconfonda  in  terra 

le  lingue  mal  parlanti, 

ch'  entra  noi  miser  guerra 

ch'  eramo  leali  amanti. 

Chi  disparte  sollazo, 

gioco  ed  ispellamento, 

Dio  lo  metta  in  tormento, 

che  sia  preso  a  reo  lazo 

e  giuggiato  di  serra. 

(V.R.V.  Mon.) 

'CIULLO  D'ALCAMO' 

XL 

Rosa  fresca  aulentissima  c'  apari  inver  la  state, 

le  donne  ti  disiano  pulcelle  maritate ; 

tragemi  d'  este  focora  se  t'  este  a  bolontate ; 
Per  te  non  aio  abento  notte  e  dia 
pensando  pur  di  voi,  madonna  mia. 

—  Se  di  meve  trabalgliti,  follia  lo  ti  fa  fare ; 
lo  mar  potresti  arompere  avanti  a  semenare, 

1'  abere  d'  esto  secolo  tutto  quanto  asembrare, 
averemi  nom  potria  esto  monno; 
avanti  gli  cavelli  m'  aritonno. 

—  Se  li  cavelli  artonniti  avanti  foss'  io  morto, 
ca  in  essi  mi  perdera  lo  solazzo  e  '1  diporto ; 
quando  ci  passo  e  veioti,  rosa  fresca  del  orto, 

bono  conforto  donimi  tuttore, 

poniamo  che  s'  aggiunga  il  nostro  amore. 


74  'CIULLO   D'ALCAMO' 

—  Che  '1  nostro  amore  aggiungasi  nom  boglio  m'  atalenti : 
se  ci  ti  trova  paremo  cogl'  altri  miei  parenti, 

guarda  non  t'  arigolgano  questi  forti  corenti ; 
como  ti  seppe  bona  la  venuta, 
consilglio  che  ti  guardi  alia  partuta. 

—  Se  i  tuoi  parenti  trovanmi,  e  che  mi  posson  fare  ? 
una  difensa  mettoci  di  due  milia  agostari ; 

non  mi  tocara  padreto  per  quanto  averea  'm  Bari. 
Viva  lo  'mperadore,  grazia  a  Deo  — 
intendi,  bella,  quel  che  ti  dico  eo. 

—  Tu  me  non  lasci  vivere  ne  sera  ne  maitino  ; 
donna  mi  son  di  perperi,  d'  auro  massa  amotino; 
se  tanto  aver  donassemi  quant'  a  lo  Saladino, 

e  per  aiunta  quant'  a  lo  Soldano, 
tocareme  non  poteria  la  mano. 

—  Molte  sono  le  femine  c'  anno  dura  la  testa, 
e  1'  omo  con  parabole  le  adimina  e  amonesta; 
tanto  intorno  procacciala  finch'  e  ella  'n  sua  podesta  ; 

femina  d'  omo  non  si  pu6  tenere, 
guardati,  bella,  pur  di  ripentere. 

—  Ch'  eo  me  ne  pentesse !  davanti  foss'  io  aucisa ; 
c'  a  nulla  bona  femina  per  me  fosse  ripresa. 

Er  sera  ci  passasti  (tu)  corenno  a  la  distesa, 
a  questi  ti  riposa,  canzoneri, 
le  tue  paraole  a  me  non  piaccion  gueri. 

—  Donne  quante  son  le  schiantora  che  m'  ai  mise  a  lo  core, 
e  solo  pur  pensannome  la  dia  quanno  v6  fore; 

femina  d'  esto  secolo  tanto  non  amai  ancore 
quant'  amo  teve,  rosa  invidiata ; 
ben  credo  che  mi  fosti  distinata. 


'CIULLO   D'ALCAMO'  75 

—  Se  distinata  fosseti,  caderia  dell'  alteze, 
che  male  messe  forano  in  teve  mie  belleze  ; 
se  tuto  adivenissemi,  tagliarami  le  treze, 

e  consore  m'  arendo  a  una  magione, 
avanti  che  m'  artochin  le  persone. 

—  Se  tu  consore  arenneti,  donna  col  viso  cleri, 
a  lo  mostero  venoci  e  rennomi  com  fieri ;  . 

per  tanta  prova  vincierti  faralo  volontieri, 
con  teco  stao  la  sera  e  lo  maitino, 
besongn'  e  ch'  io  ti  tenga  al  meo  dimino. 

—  Boime,  tapina,  misera !   com'  ao  reo  distinato ; 
Giesii  Cristo  1'  altissimo,  del  tutto  m'  e  airato  ; 
conciepisti  m'  adabattare  in  omo  blestiemato. 

Cierca  la  terra  ch'  este  grane  assai, 
chiu  bella  donna  di  me  troverai. 

—  Ciercat'  aio  Calabria,  Toscana  e  Lombardia, 
Puglia.  Constantinopoli,  Gienova,  Pisa  e  Soria, 
La  Mangna  e  Babilonia,  tutta  Barberia, 

donna  no  vi  trovai  tanto  cortese, 
perche  sovrana  di  meve  ti  prese. 

—  Poi  tanto  trabagliastiti  facioti  meo  pregheri 

che  tu  vadi  adomanimi  a  mia  mare  e  a  mon  peri ; 
se  daremiti  dengnano  menamina  lo  mosteri, 

e  sposami  davanti  da  la  iente, 

e  poi  far6  lo  tuo  comannamente, 

—  Di  ci6  che  dici,  vitama,  neiente  non  ti  bale, 
ca  delle  tue  parabole  fatto  n'  6  ponti  e  scale ; 
penne  pensasti  mettere,  sonti  cadute  1'  ale; 

e  dato  t'  aio  la  bolta  sotana, 
dunque,  se  p6i,  teniti  villana. 


76  'CIULLO   D'ALCAMO' 

—  En  paura  non  mettermi  di  nullo  manganiello ; 
istomi  n'  esta  groria  d'  esto  forte  castello; 
prezo  le  tue  parabole  men  che  d'  uno  zitello. 

Se  tu  no  levi  e  vatine  di  quaci, 
se  tu  ci  fosse  morto  ben  mi  chiaci. 

—  Dunque  voresti,  vitama,  che  per  te  fosse  strutto, 
se  morto  essere  deboci  od  intagliato  tutto; 

di  quaci  non  mi  mosera  se  non  ai'  delo  frutto 
lo  quale  stae  ne  lo  tuo  jardino ; 
disiolo  la  sera  e  lo  matino. 

—  Di  quel  frutto  non  abero  conti  ne  cabal  ieri, 
molto  lo  disiano  marchesi  e  justizieri ; 

avere  nonde  pottero,  gironde  molti  feri. 
Intendi  bene  ci6  che  vo'  (ti)  dire  — 
men  este  di  mill'  onze  lo  tuo  abere. 

—  Molti  son  li  garofani,  ma  non  che  salma  'nd'  ai ; 
bella,  non  dispregiaremi  se  avanti  non  m'  assai ; 

se  vento  e  in  proda,  e  girasi,  e  giungieti  a  le  prai, 
a  rimembrare  t'  ai  este  parole, 
ca  d'esta  (mia)  animella  assai  mi  dole. 

—  Macara  se  dolesseti,  che  cadesse  angosciato  j 
le  gienti  ci  coresoro  da  traverso  e  da  lato; 
tutte  meve  diciessono  :  Acori  esto  malnato ; 

non  ti  dengnara  porgere  la  mano, 

per  quanto  aver  a  '1  Papa  e  lo  Soldano. 

—  Deo  lo  volesse,  vitama,  te  fosse  morto  in  casa ; 
1'  arma  n'  anderia  consola  ca  notte  e  di  pantasa ; 
la  jente  ti  chiamarano :  oi  pergiura  malvasa, 

c'  ai  morto  l'omo  in  casata,  traita, 
sanz'  ogni  colpo  levimi  la  vita. 


'CIULLO  D'ALCAMO'  77 

—  Se  tu  no  levi  e  vatine  co  la  maladizione, 

li  frati  miei  ti  trovano  dentro  chissa  magione ; 
ben  lo  mi  so,  feroci  son,  perdici  la  persone, 

c'  a  meve  se'  venuto  a  sormonare ; 

parente,  amico,  non  t'  ave  aiutare. 

—  A  meve  non  aitano  amici  ne  parenti, 
istrani  mi  son,  carama,  enfra  esta  bona  jente ; 

or  fa  un'  anno,  vitama,  ch'  entrata  mi  sei  'n  mente, 
di  canno  ti  vististi  lo  'ntaiuto, 
bella,  di  quello  jorno  son  feruto. 

—  Ai,  tanto  namorastiti,  Juda  lo  traito, 
como  se  fosse  porpore,  iscarlato  o  sciamito. 
Se  le  Vangiele  jurimi  che  mi  sia  a  marito, 

avere  me  non  potera  ('n)  esto  monno  ; 
avanti  in  mare  jitomi  al  profonno. 

—  Se  tu  nel  mare  gititi,  donna  cortese  e  fina, 
dereto  mi  ti  misera  per  tutta  la  marina, 

e  posto  chanegaseti,  trobaret'  a  la  rina, 
solo  per  questa  cosa  ad  impretare, 
conteco  m'  aio  a  giungere  a  pecare. 

—  Sengnomi  in  Patre  e  'n  Filio  ed  in  Santo  Mateo  ; 
so  ca  tu  non  sei  retico,  filglio  di  Giudeo, 

e  cotale  parabole  non  udi  dire  anch'  eo ; 
mortasi  la  femina  a  lo  'ntutto, 
perdeci  lo  saboro  e  lo  disdutto. 

—  Ben  lo  sacc'  io,  carama ;  altro  nom  posso  fare 
se  quisso  non  accomplimi,  lassone  lo  cantare; 
fallo,  mia  donna,  plazati,  che  bene  lo  puoi  fare 

ancora  tu  no  m'  ami,  molto  t'  amo, 
si  m*  ai  preso  come  lo  pescie  a  1'  amo. 


78  'CIULLO   D'ALCAMO' 

—  Sazo  che  m'  ami,  i'  amoti  di  core  paladino ' ; 
levati  suso  e  vatene,  tornaci  a  lo  matino ; 

se  ci6  che  dico  faciemi  di  bon  cor  t'  amo  e  fino ; 
quisso  t'  imprometto  sanza  falglia, 
te'  la  mia  fede,  che  m'  ai  in  tua  balglia. 

—  Per  ci6  che  dici,  carama,  neiente  non  mi  movo ; 
inanti  prenni  e  scannami  —  tolli  esto  cortello  novo  — 
'sto  fatto  fare  potest  inanti  scalfi  un  uovo; 

accompli  mio  talento,  arnica  bella, 
che  1'  arma  co  lo  core  mi  s'  infella. 

—  Ben  sazo  1'  arma  doleti  com'  omo  c'  ave  arsura, 
esto  fatto  nom  potersi  per  null'  altra  misura; 

se  non  a  le  Vangiele,  che  mo  ti  dico,  jura 
averemi  non  puoi  in  tua  podesta ; 
inanti  prenni  e  tagliami  la  testa. 

—  L'  Evangiele,  carama,  ch'  io  le  porto  in  seno, 
a  lo  mostero  presile  —  non  c'  era  lo  patrino  — 
sovr'  esto  libro  juroti  mai  non  ti  vengno  meno. 

Accompli  mio  talento  in  caritate, 
che  1'  arma  mene  sta  in  sutilitate. 

—  Meo  sire,  poi  jurastimi  eo  tutta  quanta  incienno ; 
sono  a  la  tua  presenza,  da  voi  non  mi  difenno ; 

s'  eo  minespreso  aioti,  merze,  a  voi  m'  arenno ; 
a  lo  letto  ne  gimo  a  la  bon'  ora, 
che  chissa  cosa  n'  e  data  in  ventura. 

MESSER  OSMANO 

XLI 

Una  fermana  iscoppai  da  Cascioli, 
cita  cita  sen  gia  in  grand'  aina, 
eccoci  ne  portava  impingnoli, 
saimati  di  buona  saima ; 

1  qy.  di  core,  paladino. 


MESSER  OSMANO  79 

dissi,  'a  te  daro  rossi  treccioli, 
e  operata  cinta  sciamitina, 
se  co  meco  ti  dai  ne  la  caba, 
se  mi  viva  mai,  e  boni  scarponi.' 
—  'So  c'  ai  e  mal  fai,  che  cantaba 
la  fantilla  di  Cencio  Guidoni. 

C  ad  onto  meo  me  1'  ai  comannato, 
ca  la  i'  ne  le  vada  a  le  rote ; 
in  quan'  son  co  lo  vitto  parato 
a  li  scotitoi,  ch'  enno  men  zote, 
con  un  truffo  di  vino  mischiato, 
e  non  mi  scordai  per  le  gote, 
e  scatoni  per  ben  minestrare 
la  farrata  del  bono  farrone ; 
leva  te  su,  non  m'  avicinare, 
ou  tu  semplo  milenso  mamone.' 

Ed  io  tutto  mi  fui  spaventato, 
per  timiccio  che  non  a  Satanai, 
quan  la  fermana  tansin  costat'  6, 
e  quella  mi  died'  e  diss',  {Ai, 
o  tu  tristo  dolgluto  crepato, 
per  lo  vol  to  di  Dio  mal  lo  fai ; 
che  di  me  nom  puoi  aver  una  cica 
se  non  pur  mi  prendi  a  nosciella ; 
esci  indi  e  non  gir  per  la  spica ! 
si,  ti  veio  arlucar  la  masciella.' 

— '  Fermana,  se  mi  t'  aconsenchi, 
daroti  panari  di  persici, 
e  moricie  per  far  bianchi  denchi, 
tutti  atortti,  se  quisso  non  dici ; 
se  mi  lasci  passare  al  oclenchi, 
giungerotti  colori  in  tralici. 


8o  MESSER   OSMANO 

— '  E  io  piu  non  ti  faccio  rubesto, 
poi  cotanto  m'  ai  sucotata ; 
vienci  ancoi  ne  sia  pirino  resto, 
e  d'  occhiate  nom  fia  stimulata.' 

A  alaborito  ne  gio  alaterato 
chera  alvato  senza  sollena, 
lo  battisaco  trovai  bel  lavato 
e  da  capo  mi  pose  la  sciena 
e  tuto  quanto  miffui  comsolato, 
ca  sopra  mi  gito  buona  leina, 
e  con  essa  miffui  apatovito 
e  unqua  me  novi  altrei, 
'  mai  fa(re)  com  omo  iscionito, 
be  mi  pare  che  tu  mastro  <s)ei. 


FRA  GUITTONE  D'AREZZO 

XLII 

Tutto  il  dolor  che  mai  portai  fu  gioia, 
e  la  gioia  neiente  appo  'I  dolore 
del  mio  cor  lasso,  a  cui  la  morte  scorga, 
c'  altro  non  vegio  ormai  sia  validore ; 
che  'mprima  del  piacer  poco  puo  noia, 
ma  poi  forte  pu6  troppo,  ond'  a  tristore ; 
maggio  convien  che  poverta  si  porga 
a  lo  ritornador  c'  al  entradore. 
Adunque  eo,  lasso,  in  poverta  tomato 

del  piu  ricco  acquistato 
che  mai  facesse  alcun  del  meo  paraggio, 
sofera  Dio  pur  ch'  i'  viva  ad  oltraggio 
di  tutta  gente  e  del  mio  forsenato? 
non  cierto  gia  se  non  vuol  mio  danaggio. 


(V.U  v  > 


FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO  81 

Ai  lasso  !  co  mal  vidi  amaro  amore, 

la  sovranatural  vostra  bellezza, 

e  F  onorato  piacientier  piacere, 

e  tutto  ben  ch'  e  'n  voi,  somma  e  grandezza, 

e  vidi  peggio  il  dibonaire  corde 

c'  umili6  la  vostra  altera  altezza 

a  far  noi  due  d'  un  core  e  d'  un  volere, 

perch'  io,  com'  omo  mai,  portai  richezza; 

c'  a  lo  riccor  d'  amor  null'  altro  e  pare, 

ne  reina  pu6  fare 
riccore  como  n'  e,  quant'  omo  (e)  basso ; 
ne  lo  vostr'  aparer  in  amor  passo. 
Dunque  chi  '1  mio  dolor  pu6  pareiare? 
che  qual  piu  perde  acquista  ver  me  lasso. 

Ai !  com  pot'  om  che  non  di  vita  a  fiore 
durar  contra  di  mal  tutt'  altro  l  grato  ? 
si  com'  eo,  lasso,  ostal  d'  ogni  tormento, 
che  se  nel  piu  forte  om  fosse  amassato 
si  forte  e  si  coralmente  dolzore 
come  dolore  in  me,  gia  trapassato 
fora  di  vita  contro  ogni  argomento, 
como,  lasso,  viv'  eo  di  vita  fore. 
Ai !   morte,  villania  fai  e  peccato, 

che  si  m'  ai  disdengnato, 
perche  vedi  morire  opo  mi  fora, 
e  perch'  eo  piu  sovente  e  forte  mora ; 
ma  mal  tuo  grato  i'  pur  moro  isforzato 
de  le  mie  man,  se  melglio  non  posso  ancora. 

Male  6  piu  c'  altro,  e  men,  lasso,  6  conforto, 
che  s'  io  perdesse  onor  tutto  ed  avere 
e  tutti  amici  e  delle  membra  parte, 
si  mi  conforterei  per  vita  avere; 

qy.  oltre. 
er  G 


82  FRA  GUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

ma  qui  nom  posso,  poi  ch'  e  di  me  torto 
e  ritornato  in  voi  forzo  e  savere, 
che  non  fue  amore  meo  gia  d'  altra  parte; 
dunqua  com'  6  di  confortar  podere? 
E  poi  saver  non  m'  aita,  e  dolore 

mi  pur  stringe  lo  core ; 
pur  conven  ch'  io  m'  atteggi,  e  si  facio  eo> 
per6  om  mi  mostra  a  dito  e  del  mal  meo 
si  gabba,  ed  io  pur  vivo  a  disonore, 
credo,  al  mal  grado  del  mondo  e  di  Deo. 

Ai !   bella  gioia,  noia  e  dolor  meo, 
che  punto  fortunal,  lasso,  fu  quello 
di  vostro  dipartir,  crudel  mia  morte ; 
che  doblo  mal  torn6  tutto  meo  bello, 
si  del  meo  mal  mi  duol ;  ma  piu,  pardeo, 
e  me  lo  vostro  amor  crudele  e  fello, 
ca  s'  eo  tormento  d'  una  parte  forte, 
e  voi  dell'  altra  piu  stringe  il  chiavello 
come  la  piu  distretta  e  inamorata 

che  mai  fosse  aprovata; 
che  ben  fa  forzo  dimession  d'  avere 
talor  basso  omo  in  donna  alta  capare, 
ma  ci6  non  v'  agradio  gia  ne  agrada, 
dunque  d'  amor  coral  fue  ben  volefe. 

Amor,  merze,  per  Dio  vi  confortate, 

ne  da  me  non  guardate, 
che  piccioF  e  per  mia  morte  dannaggio ; 
ma  per  lo  vostro  amor  sanza  paraggio, 
e  forse  anco  per6  mi  ritornate, 
se  mai  tornar  degio,  n'  alegreraggio. 

Amor,  amor,  piu  che  veleno  amaro, 
non  gia  ben  vede  chiaro 


FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO  83 

chi  si  mette  in  poder  tuo  volontero ; 

che  il  primo  e  '1  mezzo  n'  e  gravoso  e  fero, 

e  la  fine  di  ben  tutto  contraro, 

o'  prende  laude  e  biasmo  ogni  mistero. 

(V.R.V.) 


XLIII 

Tuttor  s'  eo  veglio  o  dormo 
di  lei  pensar  non  campo, 
c'  amor  in  cor  m'  attacca; 
e  quel  voler  ad  or  m'  6 
ch'  e  di  zappar  in  campo 
o  di  credere  a  tacca ; 
e  bon  sapemi,  como 
eo  n'  aquistasse,  c'  6  mo ; 
ma  che  diritto  n'  6? 
perch'  eo  non  dico  no 
di  lei  servir  maidi, 
dica  chi  vuol,  mal  di. 

Ben  6  diritto,  so,  ma 
se  'n  amar  lei  m'  aduco 
del  cor  tutto  e  dell'  alma, 
perch'  e  di  valor  soma, 
e  che  piaciere  duco 
da  tor  amor  deli'  alma 
che  piu  m'  ama  che  se  — 
ci6  dia  saver,  che  se 
trova  suo  pregio  manco 
piu  e  onta,  non  manco, 
che  se  ben  m'  ama ;  al  dobbio 
meglio  e  cierto  che  '1  dobbio. 
g  2 


84  FRA   GU1TT0NE    D'AREZZO 

Om  che  pregio  ama,  e  p6 
piu  che  leggere  in  scola, 
amar  valeli  pr6 ; 
che  piCi  legiero  e  P6 
a  passar  senza  scola, 
che  '1  mondo  ad  omo  pr6 
senza  amore  ched  a 
cori  e  bisongni  da 
spronar,  valore,  e  forzo ; 
perche  alcuno  omo  for  z6 
che  briga  o  travaglio  agia, 
se  vale,  non  varagia. 

Amor  gia  per  la  gioia 
che  ne  vengna  non  laudo 
quanto  per  lo  travaglio  ; 
ca  per  aver  la  gioia, 
c'  a  lei  sia  par,  non  1'  audo  ; 
quanto  per  lei  travaglio 
s'  eo  la  tenesse  ad  agio, 
ben  se  n'  andrea  mio  agio, 
poi  tutte  gioie  1'  om  a 
non  varannolo,  ma 
terral  grand'  astio  e  vile ; 
perche  tal  gioia  m'  al  vil'  e. 

Poso  e  travaglio  mesto, 
dato  e  tolto  a  buon  modo, 
e  piacier  sempre  a  me; 
e  di  ciascuno  mesto 
si  bonamente  m'  odo 
gran  pagamento  m'  e. 
E'  val,  mi  sembra,  melglio 
quanto  riso  vermelglio 


FRA  GUITTONE   D'AREZZO  85 

sperar  d'  aver  arnica; 
che  poi  n'  a,  non  a  mica 
ver  chi  sperava  averne, 
e  di  gran  state  a  vern'  e. 

Scuro  saccio  che  par  lo 
mio  detto,  ma  che  parlb 
a  chi  lo  sente  ed  ame; 
che  lo  'ngengno  mio  da  me 
che  mi  pur  provi  in  onne 
manera,  e  talento  6  nne. 

Movi,  canzone,  adessa 

e  va  in  Arezzo  ad  essa 

da  cui  io  tengno  ed  6 

se  'n  alcun  ben  mi  do ; 

e  di,  che  presto  so'  mo 

di  ritornare  s'  omo. 

(V.R.V.) 


XLIV 

Amor  tanto  altamente 
lo  mio  intendimento 
have  miso,  che  nente 

agio  ardimento  di  contare  e  dire 
come  di  lei  m'  a  preso; 
ma  vista  tal  presento 
ch'  e'  lei  a  cierto  miso 

come  in  suo  sengnoragio  a  meo  disire. 
A  che  di  ci6  m'  invegio, 
cierto  cielar  nol  degio, 
non  che  cielar  lo  bene 

che  del  sengnore  vene,  fosse  fallire. 


86  FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

Falla  chi  piii  piacente 
nol  fa  che  '1  ver  consente ; 
meglio  a  lo  male  dia 
lo  ben  donare  ubria,  poi  val  servire. 

Eo,  che  servir  talent'  o, 

la  detta  via  tengno; 

al  male  ubrla  consento 
e  '1  ben  che  mente  in  viso  ognor  mi  sia 

e  d'  opera  laudata, 

di  cid  mentir  son  dengno, 

e  si  che  sia  accettata 
a  chi  di  tale  donna  e  'n  sengnoria, 

se  serve  for  fallenza 

che  non  agia  temenza 

perche  tant'  alta  sia, 
che  gia  di  gientilia  non  vene  orgoglio, 

ma  ci6  ch'  e  non  fallire 

li  pu6  gioia  sentire, 

ed  omo,  chente  sia, 
(che  svia  per)  sengnoria  laudar  non  volglio. 

Tant'  alto  sengnoragio 

6  disiato  avere ; 

mi  credo  aver,  ne  ad  agio 
parra  al  mondo  secondo  a  sua  valenza; 

e  ci6  considerando 

quanto  e  dolze  piaciere 

su  me  distese  amando 
vicino  fui  che  mori  di  temenza. 

Ma  avaccio  mi  riprese 

uno  pensier  cortese, 

com  sempre  gentileza 
face  'n  lo  cor  alteza  e  pietanza; 


FRA  GUITTONE   D'AREZZO  87 

allor  temer  dimisi, 
fedelita  promisi; 
com'  ell'  ave  coraggio 
le  feci  prender  sagio  per  semblanza 

Poi  ch'  approvo  lo  saggio 

con  fina  canoscienza 

ch'  era  di  fino  omaggio, 
mi  fu  suo  sengnoraggio  concieduto ; 

nel  suo  chiarito  viso 

e  amorosa  piagienza 

fumi  lo  cor  remiso, 
c'  altra  guisa  non  fora  mai  partuto. 

Quando  di  ci6  m'  accorsi 

tal  gioia  in  cor  mi  porsi 

che  mi  facie  affollire 
e  veggio  pur  grazire  me  'n  sua  piagienza, 

adunque  non  damagio 

mi  fa  lo  temor  c'  agio, 

ma  degiol  bene  amare, 
che  sturbato  m'  a  fare  ver  lei  fallenza. 

Fallenza  e  lo  dimando 

far  lei  senza  ragione 

ch'  eo  vegio  che  si  stando 
m'  a  sovrameritato  il  meo  servire ; 

per6  tacier  m'  asservo, 

per6  che  guiderdone 

non  de'  chieder  buon  servo, 
bisongna  non  che  '1  cheri  il  suo  servire. 

Se  vo  atendendo  lasso, 

poi  m'  avenisse,  lasso, 

che  mi  trovasse  in  fallo, 
sicome  Prezevallo,  non  cherere. 


88  FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

Vorei  a  presente  morto; 
mo  non  tal  pensier  porto, 
ma  si  mala  'ncrescienza, 
che  sola  canoscienza  a  la  im  podere. 

Va,  canzone,  a  lei  ch'  ene 

donna  e  signor  di  mene, 

di'  che  di  nulla  cosa 
ch'  a  lei  non  sia  gioiosa  eo  non  son  vago  ; 

ma  di  starle  servente 

tacito  e  sofferente, 

e  volglio  che  di  me  faccia 
tutto  cio  che  le  piaccia,  ed  e  me  pago. 

Poi  Mazeo  di  Rico 

ch'  e  di  fin  presgio  rico 

mi  saluta,  mi  spia, 
e  di',  ch'  a  rasgion  fia  (ch')  el  guiderdone 

dea  perdere  chi  '1  chiede ; 

e  di  cio  fogli  fede, 

chi  '1  servir  piu  dispresgia 
e  guiderdon  non  presgia,  a  tal  rasgione. 

(V.R.V.  Val.) 

XLV 
Ai  lasso,  or  e  stagion  di  doler  tanto 
a  ciascun  om  che  ben  ama  rasgione; 
ch'  io  meraviglio  chi  trova  guerigione, 
che  morto  nol  agia  corotto  e  pianto, 
vegiendo  1'  alta  fior,  sempre  granata, 
e  1'  onorato  antico  uso  romano, 
che  cierto  per  crudel  sorte  e  villano 
se  d'  avaccio  non  e  ricoverato ; 
Che  1'  onorata  sua  rica  grandeza 
e  '1  presgio  quasi  e  gia  tutto  perito 
e  lo  valor  e  '1  poder  si  disvia. 


FRA   GUITTONE   U'AREZZO  89 

Ai  lasso,  or  quale  dia 
fu  mai  tanto  crudel  danagio  audito? 

Deo,  com'  ai  lo  sofrito? 
diritto  pena,  e  torto  entra  in  alteza. 

Alteza  tanta,  e  la  fiorita  fiore, 
fu,  mentre  ver  se  stessa  era  leale, 
che  riteneva  mondo  imperiale, 
aquistando  per  suo  alto  valore 
provincie  e  terre  presso  e  lungi  mante ; 
e  sembrava  che  far  volesse  impero 
sicomo  Roma  gia  fece,  e  legiero 
gli  era,  ciascuno  non  contrastante, 
e  cid  gli  stava  ben  cierto  a  rasgione, 
che  non  s'  indi  penava  a  suo  pro  tanto 
como  per  ritener  giustizia  e  poso ; 

e  poi  fu  li1  amoroso 
di  fare  cid,  si  trasse  avanti  tanto 

c'  al  mondo  non  fu  canto 
che  non  sonasse  il  presgio  del  leone. 

Leone,  lasso,  or  non  e,  ch'  i'  lo  veo 
tratto  1'  unghie  e  le  denti  e  lo  valore, 
e  '1  gran  lingnagio  suo  mortal  dolore, 
e  di  suo  bel  presgio  messo  a  gran  reo. 
E  ci6  li  a  fatto  chi  ?   Quegli  che  sono 
de  la  gientil  sua  schiatta  stratti  e  nati, 
che  fur  per  lui  cresciuti  ed  avanzati 
sovra  tutti  altri,  e  collogati  im  bono ; 
e  per  la  grande  alteza  ove  li  mise 
e'  mostran  si  che  '1  piagan  quasi  a  morte, 
ma  Dio  di  guerisgion  feceli  dono, 

ed  ei  fe  lor  perdono ; 
ed  anche  refedir,  poi  mal  fu  forte, 

1  qy.  le. 


9o  FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

e  perdon6  lor  morte, 
or  anno  lui  e  sue  membra  conquise. 

Conquiso  e  1'  alto  comun  fiorentino, 
e  col  sanese  in  tal  modo  a  cangiato 
che  tutta  1'  onta  e  lo  danno  che  dato 
li  a  sempre,  como  sa  ciascun  latino, 
li  rende,  e  tolle  il  pro  e  1'  onor  tutto; 
che  Montalcino  a  combattuto  a  forza 
e  Montepulcian  misoro  in  sua  forza1, 
e  di  Maremma  a  la  Cervia  lo  frutto, 
San  Gimignan,  Poggibonize  e  Colle, 
e  Volterra  ed  il  paese  a  suo  tene, 
e  la  campana,  le  insegne,  e  gli  arnesi, 

e  li  onor  tutti  presi 
ave,  con  cid  che  seco  avea  di  bene; 

e  tutto  ci6  gli  avene 
per  quella  schiatta  ch'  e  piu  c'  altra  folle. 

Folle  e  chi  fugie  il  suo  pro  e  cria  danno 
e  1'  onor  suo  fa  che  'n  vergongna  torna, 
di  bona  liberta,  ove  sogiorna 
a  gram  piacier,  s'  addice  a  suo  gran  danno2 
sotto  (una)  sengnoria  fella  e  malvasgia, 
e  suo  sengnor  fa  suo  grande  nemico. 
A  voi,  che  siete  or  in  Firenze,  dico : 
che  cid  ch'  e  divenuto  par  v'  adagia; 
e  poi  che  gli  Alamanni  in  casa  avete, 
servite  bene  e  fatevi  mostrare 
le  spade  lor  con  che  v'  an  fesso  i  visi 

e  padri  e  filgli  aucisi ; 
e  piacemi  che  lor  degiate  dare  — 

perch'  ebero  in  ci6  fare 
fatica  assai  —  di  vostre  gran  monete. 
1  qy.  m.  a  sua  rin  forza.  "  qy.  malanno. 


FRA  GUITTONE   D'AREZZO  91 

Monete  mante  e  gran  gioie  presentate 
ai  Conti  ed  a  gli  Uberti,  e  a  gli  altri  tutti 
ch'  a  tanto  grand'  onor  vanno  *  condutti, 
che  miso  v'  anno  Sena  in  potestate, 
Pistoia  e  Colle  e  Volterra  fann'  ora 
vostre  castelle  guardar  a  lor  spese; 
e  '1  Conte  Rosso  a  Maremma  e  '1  paese ; 
Montalcin  sta  sicuro  sanza  mura; 
di  Ripafratte  teme  or  il  Pisano, 
e  '1  Perugin,  che  '1  lago  nolgli  tolliate; 
e  Roma  vuol  con  voi  far  compangnia, 

onore  e  sengnoria. 
Or  dunque  pare  ben  che  tutto  abiate 

ci6  che  disiavate, 
potete  far  cioe  re  del  Toscano. 

Baron  lombardi  e  romani  e  pulgliesi 
e  toschi  e  romangnuoli  e  marchisgiani, 
Fiorenza,  fior  che  sempre  rinovella, 

a  sua  corte  v'  apella, 
che  fare  vuol  di  se  re  de'  Toscani, 

poi  tutti  gli  Alamanni 
e  conquisi  per  forza  ave  i  Senesi. 

(V.R.V.    Mon.) 

XLVI 

Tanto  sovente  dett'  agio  altra  fiada 
di  dispiagienza  e  di  falso  piacere, 
che  bel  m'  e  forte  ed  agradivo  or  dire 
di  ci6  che  di  (ben)  grado  in  cor  m'  agrada. 
Primamente  nel  mondo  agrado  pace, 
d'  onde  m'  agrada  vedere 
1'  uomo  e  la  roba  viaciere 
L  qy.  v'  anno. 


92  FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

ne'  boschi  al  cierto  si  come  in  castelli ; 

e  m'  agrada  gli  angnelli 
lungo  i  lupi  veder  pascier  ad  agio; 

e  m'  agrada  a  misagio 
saver  rappador  tuti  e  frodolenti; 
ed  agrada  fugir  sentir  carizia, 

sorvenendo  dovizia 
abbondosa,  che  pascie  e  che  rifacie 

tutte  affamate  genti, 

onde  vanno  gaudenti, 
e  cantando  e  laudando  esso  chi  '1  facie. 

Bel  m'  e  savor  di  re  che  i  vizi  scusa 
e  casto  e  mansueto  pur  si  tengna, 
nella  cui  reggion  men  forza  rengna, 
e  che  P  altrui  non  cher,  ne  '1  suo  mal  usa : 
e  bel  m'  e  manto  alt'  omo,  umil  savere; 

e  bel  che  forte  Sengnore 

rende  salute  ed  amore 
del  ben  (a  li)  vicini;  e  bel  mi  sae 

omo  ricco  ch'  estrae 
la  mano  sua  d'  ogni  largheza  vana, 

e  la  stende  e  Y  apiana 
a  limosina  far  d'  allegro  core; 
e  bel  m'  e  giovan  om  semplice  e  retto 

d'  ogni  laideza  netto ; 
e  bello,  vergognar  veglio  e  dolere 

di  che  fue  pecadore 

contra  nostro  Sengnore ; 
e  bello  se  mendar  sa  a  suo  podere. 

Piacemi  cavalier  che  Dio  temendo 
porta  lo  nobil  suo  ordine  bello ; 
piacemi  dibonare  e  pro  donzello, 
lo  cui  mestier  e  sol  pugnar  servendo 


FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO  93 

e  giudici  che  'n  se  servan  ben  legie ; 

campion  che  [non]  torto  difende, 

e  mercatante  che  vende 
ad  un  sol  motto,  e  sua  roba  non  lauda; 

pover'  ora  che  non  frauda, 
ne  s'  abandona  gia  ne  se  contrista, 

ma  per  afanno  aquista 
che  lui  e  neciesaro,  e  se  contene 
in  quel  suo  poco  tuto  alegramente. 

E  forte  m'  e  piacente 
om  che  se  ben  in  aversita  regie  ; 

piaciemi  anco  chi  bene 

ogni  ingiura  sostiene, 
e  c'  ave  in  se  chi  ben  predica  e  legie. 


E  diletto  veder  donna  che  porta 
a  suo  sengnor  fede  amorosa  e  pura, 
e  che  da  pacie,  e  che  piacier  lui  cura, 
e  sagiamente,  se  falla,  il  comporta ; 
e  donna  bella,  che  bella  s'  obria ; 

ed  ogni  donna  e  donzella 

che  basso  e  rado  favella, 
e  c'  a  temente  e  vergongnoso  aspetto. 

Veder  forte  diletto 
donna  che  sottomette  a  castitate 

bellore  e  gioventate, 
e  via  piu  s'  a  sengnor  avoltro  e  brutto; 
e  donna  ch'  e  vedova  sola,  ed  ae 

briga  e  famiglia,  e  sae 
e  fa  veder  c'  aquisti,  tengna,  e  dia, . 

con  argomento  tutto 

presgio  prendendo  e  frutto, 
lungiando  a  se  pecato  e  villania. 


94  FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

Sami  bon  Papa  la  cui  vita  e  lucie, 
al  cui  splendor  ciascun  malfar  vergongna, 
ed  al  cui  spechio  s'  orna,  ed  a1  ben  pungna, 
onde  guerra  diparte,  pace  aducie ; 
e  Parlato,  la  cui  operazione, 

abito,  ed  alto  edificio 

paga  ben  quel  beneficio 
e  quella  dengnita  che  data  e  lui ; 

Rilescioso,  che  pui 


parte  del  mondo,  e  non  nel  mondo  sede; 
e  gientil  giovane  omo  e  dilicato 

che  ben  porta  chercato, 
poi  d'  ogni  parte  contro  a  gran  campione 

e  mastro  in  nostra  fede; 

la  cui  vita  fa  fede 
che  solo  in  nostra  legie  e  salvazione. 

Agrada  e  piacie  e  sa  piu  bello  e  bono 

la  benivol  gran  bontate, 

la  'ntera  e  vera  pietate 
di  quel  giudice  eterno,  en  cui  potenza 

resta  la  mia  sentenza. 
E  m'  adolza  lo  cor  sovente  a  audire 

la  fermeza  e  1'  ardire 
degli  antichi  cristian  buon  cavalieri. 
Ai,  che  dolce  (e)  audir  la  pacienza 

lor  grande,  ed  astinenza, 
e  V  ardore  di  lor  gran  caritate, 
e  come  al  martir  vieno  casti  e  fieri, 

non  gia  men  volontieri 
che  basso  cherco  a  sua  gran  dengnitate. 

(V.R.V.) 
1  qy.  e  da. 


FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO  95 

XLVII 

Vergongno,  lasso,  ed  6  me  stesso  ad  ira, 
e  doveria  via  piu,  riconosciendo 
co'  mal  usai  lo  fior  del  tempo  mio. 
Perche  no  '1  core  mio  sempre  sospira? 
o  gli  occhi  perche  mai  finan  piangendo, 
o  la  bocca  di  dir :   merze  di  Dio  ? 
poi  francheza  di  cor  e  vertii  d'  alma 
tutta  sommisi,  oime  lasso,  al  servagio 
de'  vizi  miei,  non  Dio  ne  buono  usagio 
ne  diritto  guardando  in  lor  seguire, 

non  mutando  disire. 
S'  io  risurgiesse,  com  fenicie  facie, 

gia  fora  a  la  fornacie 
lo  putriffatto  mio  vil  corpo  ardendo ; 

ma  poi  non  posso,  attendo 
che  lo  pietoso  Padre  me  sovengna, 

di  tal  guisa  ch'  io  vengna 
pulificato  e  mondo,  e  di  corpo  alma. 

Oi  lasso,  gia  vegio  genere  umano, 
che  sengnoril  naturalmente  e  tanto 
che  '1  minor  om  talenta  imperiare, 
e,  ci6  piu  c'  altro  piace ;   e  piu  gli  e  strano 
d'  aver  sengnor,  che  Dio  volentier  manto 
non  vuole  gia  ciascun,  sicome  pare; 
come  poi  dunque  lo  minore  e  '1  magio 
sommette  a'  vizi  il  corpo  e  1'  arma  e  '1  core, 
<ond')  e  servagio  alcun,  lasso,  pegiore? 
ed  e  mai  sengnoria  perfetta  alcuna 

che  sua  propia  persona 
tenere  1'  omo  ben  sotto  rasgione  ? 

Ai,  che  fu  mai  '1  campione 
che  la  V  ogni  sengnor  perde,  e  vincente? 


96  FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

ne  poi  d'  altro  e  perdente, 
che  'n  loco  ove  vertu  dell'  alma  impera 

non  e  nociente  spera 
ne  tema,  ne  dolore  ne  allegragio. 

Oi  morti  fatti  noi  di  nostra  vita ! 
oi  stolti  dal  vile *  nostro  savere ! 
oi  pover  di  ricor,  bassi  d'  alteza ! 
com'  e  verta  di  noi  tanto  fallita 
c'  ogni  cosa  di  vizio  e  noi  piacere, 
ed  ogni  cosa  di  vertii  graveza? 
Gia  fisolafi,  Dio  non  conosciendo, 
ne  poi  morte  aspettando  guiderdone, 
schifaro  vizi  e  aver  tutta  stagione, 
seguendo  si  vertu,  c'  onesta  vita 

fu  lor  gaudio  e  lor  vita  ; 
e  noi  come  pu6  cosa  altra  abellire 

che  'n  vertu  lui  seguire, 
lo  qual  chi  '1  segue  ben  perde  timore, 

che  non  teme  om  sengnore, 
morte  ne  poverta,  danno  ne  pene  ? 

c'  ogni  cosa  gli  e  bene, 
si  com'  (e  ogni)  mal,  non  lui  seguendo. 

Pungnam  dunque  a  valer  forzosamente, 

ne  '1  ben  schifiam  perche  noi  sembri  grave, 

c'  orato  aquisto  non  fu  senza  afanno; 

e  se  1'  om  pene  per  vertute  sente, 

ne  i  vizi  usar  sempre  e  dolze  e  soave, 

che  spesso  rede 2  dolglia  ed  onta  e  danno. 

Ma  cid  ch'  e  noi  contra  talento  ed  uso 

n'  e  grave,  e  n'  e  legier  ci6  ch'  e  con  esso; 

ch'  uso  e  voler  c'  avem  nel  male  messo 

ne  '1  fa  piacer,  e  dispiacer  lo  bene ; 

1  qy.  da  tutto.  2  qy.  rende  ;  or  e  rede. 


FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO  97 

adunqua  ne  convene 
aconciar  a  bene  voglia  ed  usanza, 

se  volem  benenanza ; 
che  non  e  ben  se  da  ben  non  e  nato, 

c'  ogni  gioia  di  pecato 
e  mesta  con  dolore,  e  fine  male, 

ed  ogni  cosa  vale 
da  fine  suo,  che  n'  e  dunque  amoroso. 

Come  al  lavorator  la  zappa  e  data, 

e  dato  il  mondo  a  noi ;  non  per  gaudere, 

ma  per  esso  eternal  vita  aquistare ; 

e  non  1'  alma  a  lo  corpo  e  gia  criata, 

ma  '1  corpo  all'  alma,  e  1'  alma  a  Dio  piacere, 

che  noi  lui  piu  che  noi  dovemo  amare 

e  im  pria  ch'  istessi  noi  am5  noi  esso  ! 

e  se  ne  disamammo  e  demmo  altrui 

di  se  medesmo  racattdne  poi. 

Ai  lasso,  perche  avem  1'  alma  si  vile? 

gia  1'  e  ben  si  gientile 
che  prese,  per  trar  lei  d'  eternal  morte, 

umanitate,  e  mort'  e. 
Abiam  la  dunque  cara,  ed  esso  amiamo 

ove  tutto  troviamo 
cid  che  pud  nostro  cuor  disiderare ; 

ne  mai  altro  pagare 
ne  pud  gia,  che  lo  ben  c'  a.  noi  promesso. 

Oi,  sommo  Ben,  da  cui  ben  tutto  e  nato, 
oi  luce,  per  qual  vede  ogni  visagio, 
o  sapienza,  onde  sa  ciascun  sagio, 
neiente  feci  me,  tu  mi  ricrii, 

disviai  me,  tu  me  rinvii, 
ed  orbai  me,  tu  m'  ai  lume  renduto  j 
ci6  non  m*  a  conceduto 

iUTLKR  JJ 


98  FRA   GUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

mio  merito,  ma  la  tua  gran  bontate. 

Oi  somma  maestate, 
quanto  laudar  amar  servir  de'  tee 

dimostra  ancor  a  mee, 
e  fa  c'  a  ci6  tutto  mio  cor  sia  dato. 

A  messer  Cavalcante,  a  messer  Lapo, 
va,  mia  canzone;   e  di  lor  c'  audit'  agio 
che  '1  sommo  ed  inorato  sengnoragio 
pungnan  di  conquistar,  tornando  a  vita ; 

e  se  tu  sai  gli  aita, 
e  di  che  '1  coninzar  ben  cher  tuttore 

mezzo  e  fine  melgliore, 
e  prende  onta  1'  alma  e  '1  corpo  tornare 

al  mal  ben  cominzare ; 
per6  afermino  lor  core  a  volere 

seguire  ongni  volere 
di  quelli  ca  per  tutto  e  nostro  capo. 


XLVIII 

Comune  perta  fa  comun  dolore, 
e  comune  dolore  comun  pianto, 
perche  chere  onni  bon  pianger  ragione. 
Perduto  a  vero  suo  padre  valore 
e  pregio,  amico  bono  e  grande  manto, 
e  valente  ciascun  suo  compagnone, 
Giacomo  da  Leona,  in  te,  bel  frate. 
O  che  crudele  amaro(re)  ed  amaro 
ne  la  perdita  tua  gustar  dea  core 

che  gust6  lo  dolzore 
dei  dolci  e  veri  tuoi  magni  conduttT, 

che  pascendo  bon  ghiotti 


(V.R.V.) 


FRA    (JUITTONE    D'AREZZO  99 

lo  valente  valor  tuo  cucinava, 

e  pascieva  e  sanava 
catun  mondan  ver  gusto  e  viso  chiaro, 
sentendo  d'  essi  ben  la  bonitate. 

Tu,  frate  mio,  vero  bon  trovatore 
in  piana  ed  in  sotile  rima  e  (cara) 
ed  in  soavi  e  saggi  e  cari  motti, 
francesca  lingua  e  proensal  labore 
piCi  de  1'  artina  e  bene  in  te,  che  chiara 
la  parlasti  e  trovasti  in  modi  totti. 
Tu  sonatore  e  cantator  gradivo, 
sentitor  bono  e  parlador  piacente, 
dittator  chiaro  ed  avenente  e  retto, 

adorno  e  bello  aspetto, 
cortese  lingua  e  costumi  avenenti 

piacenteri  e  piacenti, 


dato  fu  te  tutto  cib  solamente 


Non  die'  alcun  dunque  troppo  t'  onori 

acciocche  non  tu  om  di  gran  nazione; 

che  quanto  piu  e  vil,  (men  e)  car  priso 

omo  quello,  li  cui  antecessori 

fur  di  valente  e  nobil  condizione. 

Se  valor  segue  onor  poco  1'  aviso ; 

se  figlio  di  destrier  destrieri  vale, 

non  e  gran  cosa,  e  non  n'  e  lausor  magno, 

ma  magna  e  onta  se  ronzin  somiglia ; 

ma  ci6  e  maraviglia 
e  cosa  magna  se  di  ronzin  vene 

che  destrieri  val  bene, 
h  2 


ioo  FRA   OUITTONE   D'AREZZO 

e  tal'  e  da  orrar  sovra  destrero 

bass'  omo,  che  altero 
a  core  e  senno,  ed  or  se  fa  da  stagno ; 
ond'  e  ver  degno  d'  aver  pregio  tale. 

Non  ver  lignaggio  fa  sangue,  ma  core, 
ne  vero  pregio  poder,  ma  vertute; 
e  si  grazia  ed  amor,  e  appo  sciente, 

sol  pregio  e  giente, 
nullo  o  parvo  e  pregio  in  ben  di  fore, 

ma  ne  li  interiore  ; 
che  dov'  om  e  per  cui  lo  pregio  V  onta 

le  piii  fiate  [de]smonta, 
a  valore  ed  a  pregio  ed  a  salute, 
bealta,  domo,  lignaggio,  e  riccore. 


CHIARO  DAVANZATI 

XLIX 

Gravosa  dimoranza 
faccio,  poiche  'n  disparte 

convierrmi  contro  a  voglia  dimorare, 
metendo  la  speranza 
la  've  non  agio  parte, 

altro  che  solamente  tormentare  ; 

da  poi  non  vegio  possasi  partire 
da  me  punto  languire, 

pin  disiando  la  dov'  agio  spera ; 
penando  trovo  fera 

per  me  pieta,  e  la  merce  calare. 

Se  '1  dimoro  ch'  eo  faccio 
col  pensier  non  m'  alena 
la  mia  vita  pud  durare  poco ; 


Mon.) 


CHIARO   DAVANZATI  101 

meglio  e  la  morte  avaccio 

che  vivendo  con  pena; 
forse  nel  altro  mondo  avragio  gioco, 
che  lo  tormento  in  esto  mondo  avere 

e  per  1'  altro  tenere 
^  —  \j  —  d'  ongni  bono  membrato, 

secondo  io  vegio  usato ; 
ma  per  me,  lasso,  so  ch'  e  tutto  foco. 

Dunque  voria  partire 

se  '1  mio  cor  concedesse, 
ricanosciendo  mio  meglioramento ; 

ma  non  mi  val  seguire, 

tant'  a  sue  voglie  messe 
in  altro  loco,  ov'  e  suo  piacimento. 
Pero  d'  amor  voria  fosse  in  usanza 

omo  quand'  a  pesanza 
che  (vi)  trovasse  la  pieta  incarnata, 

quando  fosse  chiamata 
secondo  opera  che  desse  tormento. 

Se  'n  disperar  dimoro 

da  tutto  mio  disio 
e  di  tornar  non  agio  libertate, 

de  lo  talento  moro, 

che  sanza  lo  cor  mio 
nom  posso  dimorar  a  le  contrade; 
e  la  valente  in  cui  mess'  agio  intenza 

s'  eo  non  veio  in  presenza 
non  pote  gioi'  aver  gia  la  mia  vita, 

ma  di  crudel  ferita 
conven  morir  con  fera  iniquitate. 

Or  dunque,  canzonetta, 
poi  di  lontana  via 
(ritorno)  conven  fare  a  1'  avenente, 


102  CHIARO   DAVANZATI 

dille  che  [altro]  non  aspetta 

la  speranza  mia 
solo  che  lei  vedere  di  presente ; 
e  quest'  e  cio  laond'  io  riprendo  gioia 

de  la  mia  pena  e  noia, 
atendendomi  a  lei  tosto  redire, 

se  non  torna  in  fallire 
lo  mio  pemsier  alegro  sovenente. 


D'  un'  amorosa  voglia  mi  convene 
cantare  alegramente,  rimembrando 
com'  io  partivi  da  la  donna  mia, 
ca  dolzemente  mi  dicea  abrazando  : 
'  Se  vai,  mio  sire,  non  agie  'n  obria 
tornare  a  1'  amoroso  nostro1  bene, 
ma  rinmembra  lo  nostro  fin  diporto 
a  cid  che  di  tornar  agie  volglienza; 
prendi  lo  core  e  me  ne  la  tua  balgiia, 
si  che  mi  porti  avanti  tua  presenza, 
dipinta  in  core,  com'  io  sono  in  talglia  : 
di  simile  voler  faragio  porto.' 

Io,  abraciando  1'  amorosa  ciera, 
basgiando  dolzemente  le  parlai : 
'  Gientil  mia  gioia,  in  voi  e  la  mia  vita, 
altra  speranza  non  avragio  mai 
che  solamente  de  la  mia  redita 
a  voi  che  sete  del  mio  cor  lomera.' 
Ed  ella  a  se  mi  strinse  immantinente : 
'  Dolze  mio  sire,  a  Dio  sia  acomandato ; 
da  mi  tua  fe'  presente  di  tornare.' 
1  qy.  vostro. 


CHIARO   DAVANZATI  103 

Ed  io  lei  die',  piangiendo  lo  comiato ; 
disele  :    '  Amor  meo,  non  ti  sconfortare, 
membra  che  la  tornata  fia  presente.' 

Cosi  partiva  de  lo  mio  diletto ; 

canto,  che  mi  sovien  de  1'  amorosa, 

e  dolglio  forte  de  lo  dipartire. 

Pertanto  che  lo  so  che  m'  e  gravosa, 

cosi  fosse  cangiato  in  un  (vedere) 

che  fosse  in  sicurta  de  lo  dispetto ; 

pertanto  mi  soverchi  1'  alegranza 

membrandomi  la  gioia  che  avemo  insembra. 

Quand'  io  veragio  a  simile  disio? 

che  di  null'  altra  cosa  piu  mi  membra 

che  di  tornar  cola  donde  partio, 

che  di  gioia  torni  doppia  la  speranza. 


(V.R.V.) 


LI 

Di  lungia  parte  aduciemi  1'  amore 
ispesso  gioia  e  pena,  rimembrando 
ch'  io  son  lontan  da  tutto  mio  disio  : 
la  mente  non  e  meco  ne  lo  core, 
che  1'  avenente  1'  ave  in  suo  comando, 
ed  eo  quant'  agio  tengnol  da  lei  im  fio, 
di  che  dimeno  gioia  ed  alegranza, 
rimembrando  de  la  sua  gran  bieltate, 
e  che  le  piacie  ch'  io  le  sia  servente; 
e  di  quest'  agio  dolglia  com  pesanza, 
ch'  io  son  disparte  di  quelle  contrate 
cola  dove  dimora  1'  avenente. 

L'  avenente  e  '1  mio  cor  fan  compagnia, 

e  chiamano  la  mente  e  1'  intelletto 

che  vengnano  a  veder  chi  sengnor  n'  era, 


io4  CHIARO    DAVANZATI 

e  chi  per  amor  prese  la  balia 
del  piu  piagiente  e  nobile  diletto 
che  fosse  mai  in  null'  altra  riviera ; 
c'  amanti  son  c'  an  gioia  ricieputa, 
ma  non  che  ver  la  mia  sian  di  paragio. 
Di  cid  piu  doppiamente  agio  dolglienza, 
che  senza  pene  mi  fu  concieduta 
per  umilita,  non  gia  per  oltragio, 
da  1'  avenente  in  cui  rengna  valenza. 

Per6  dolglio,  no  mi  posso  alegrare, 
che  quanto  piu  sent'  io  di  piacimento, 
cotanto  piu  mi  dole  la  dimora, 
ch'  io  son  disparte  sanza  lei  parlare, 
che  di  null'  altra  cosa  e  pensamento 
che  lo  tornare,  quando  sia  quell'  ora 
ch'  io  raquisti  lo  tempo  c'  6  perduto, 
e  metta  in  obrianza  le  mie  pene 
c'  agio  portate  per  lei  non  vedere ; 
che  son  di  cid  pensando  divenuto 
natural  com'  el  cieciero  divene, 
che  termina  cantando  lo  spiaciere. 

Dolze  rivera  gaia  ed  amorosa, 

diletto  sovra  tute  la  sovrana, 

porto  di  gioie  e  di  valore  orata, 

d'  adornamento  e  di  graze  abondosa, 

gentil  terra  sovr'  ongne  altra  Pisana, 

ove  lo  presgio  compie  sua  giornata, 

perche  son  prolungato,  oime  lasso, 

e  facievi  '1  meo  core  dimoranza, 

e  P  avenente  da  cui  tengno  vita, 

che  chiamo  lo  suo  nome  ad  ongne  passo, 

e'  par  che  ne  solevi  mia  pesanza 

pensando  solamcnte  la  redita. 


CHIARO   DAVANZATI  105 

Di  cio  mi  ricomforto  e  noni  dispero 
pensando  ne  la  sua  rica  acolglienza, 
che  mi  de'  far  tornandole  davanti ; 
e  1'  adorneze  del  suo  viso  altero 
faran  redire  in  gioia  la  mia  dolglienza 
e  li  martiri  c'  agio  avuti  tanti. 
Pero,  mia  canzonetta,  a  lei  t'  invia, 
inchinala  e  saluta  dolzemente, 
dille  ch'  io  credo  in  gioia  ristorare 
presente  ch'  io  vedro  sua  sengnoria  ; 
sovr'  ongni  amante  credo  esser  gaudente, 
onde  fratanto  degia  comfortare. 


(V.R.V.) 


LII 

Ai  dolze  e  gaia  terra  Fiorentina, 
fontana  di  valore  e  di  piagienza, 

fior  dell'  altre,  Fiorenza, 
qualunque  a.  piu  saver  ti  ten  reina; 
formata  fue  di  Roma  tua  semenza, 
e  da  Dio  solo  data  la  dotrina, 

che  per  lucie  divina 
lo  re  Fiorin  ci  spese  sua  potenza, 

ed  ebe  in  sua  seguenza 
conti  e  marchesi,  prencipi  e  baroni, 
gientil  d'  altre  w  —  v^  —  rasgioni ; 
ciesati  fuor  d'  orgoglio  e  villania 

miser  lor  baronia, 
a  cio  che  fossi  de  1'  altre  magiore. 

Come  fosti  ordinata  primamente 

da  sei  baroni  che  piu  avean  d'  altura, 

e  ciascun  pose  cura 
ver  sua  parte  com  fosse  piu  piacientt, 


io6  CHIARO    DAVANZATI 

da  San  Giovanni  avesti  sua  figura, 
i  bei  costumi  dal  fior  de  la  giente, 

da'  savi  il  convenente, 
im  planeta  di  Leo  piu  sicura, 

di  villania  fuor  pura, 
di  piacimento  e  di  valore  orata, 
in  sana  aira  ed  in  gioia  formata, 
diletto  d'  ongni  bene  ed  abondosa, 

gientile  ed  amorosa, 
imperadricie  d'  ongni  cortesia. 

Ai  me,  Fiorenza,  che  e  rimembrare 
lo  grande  stato  e  la  tua  franchitate 

c'  6  detta,  ch'  e  'n  viltate 
disposta  ed  abassata,  ed  im  penare 
somessa,  e  sottoposta  im  fedeltate, 
per  li  tuoi  figli  collo  rio  portare, 

che  per  non  perdonare 
1'  un  1'  altro,.  t'  anno  messa  in  basitate. 
Ai  me,  o  lassa,  dov'  e  lo  savere 
e  '1  presgio  e  lo  valore  e  la  francheza, 

la  tua  gran  gientileza? 
credo  che  dorme  e  giacie  in  mala  parte. 

Chi  'm  prima  disse  'parte' 
fra  li  tuoi  figli,  tormentato  sia. 

Fiorenza,  [nom]  posso  dir  che  sei  sforita 
ne  ragionar  che  'n  te  sia  cortesia; 

chi  non  s'  adomilia, 
gia  sua  bonta  nom  puote  esser  gradita. 
Non  se'  piu  tua,  ne  ai  la  segnoria, 
anzi  se'  disorata  ed  aiinita 

ed  ai  perduta  vita, 
che  messa  t'  a  ciascuno  in  schiavonia ; 


CHIARO   DAVANZATI  107 

da  1'  un  tuo  filglio  due  volte  donata 
per  1'  altro  consumare  e  dar  dolore, 

e  per  1'  altro  a  sengnore 
se'  oramai,  e  donera'  gli  il  fio. 

Non  val  chiedere  a  Uio 
per  te  merze,  Fiorenza  dolorosa. 

Ke  e  moltipricato  in  tua  statura 
astio,  envidia,  noia  e  strugimento, 

orgolglioso  talento, 
avarizia,  pigrizia  e  losura; 
e  ciascuno  ch'  e  in  te  a  pensamento 
e'  studia  sempre  di  voler  usura; 

di  Dio  non  an  paura, 
ma  sieguen  sempre  a  desiar  tormento ; 
li  picioli,  i  mezani  e  li  magiori 
anno  altro  in  cor  che  nom  mostran  di  fora. 

Per  contrado  lavora ; 
onde  '1  sengnor  Idio,  pien  di  pietate, 

per  sua  nobilitate 

ti  riconduca  a  la  verace  via. 

(V.R.V.    Mon.1 


LI  1 1 

Non  gia  per  gioia  c'  agia  mi  conforto, 

ma  perch'  io  vegio  un  om  morto  d:  amore 

per  dritto  amar  ed  esser  servidore 

a  suo  poter  di  donna  tuttavia ; 

c'  ormai  le  donne  che  '1  vedranno  morto 

ciascuna  piu  pietanza  avranno  in  core, 

vegiendo  per  asempro  lo  dolore 

del  buono  amante  chi  '1  tene  in  obria. 


108  CHIARO   DAVANZATI 

ciascuna  credera  veraciemente 
quello,  onde  sono  state  miscredente, 
che  null'  om  possa  per  amor  morire. 
Cos!  fosse  piaciuto  a  1'  alto  Sire 
che  la  donna  per  cui  mort'  e  1'  amante 
fosse  essa  morta  per  colui  avante, 
perche  ciascuna  fosse  poi  credente. 

In  tanto  posso  de  1'  amor  mesdire 
quant'  a  mort'  un  per  lealmente  amare, 
e  noil'  a  gia  voluto  accompagnare ; 
ca,  se  fosse,  saria  piu  gioia  la  morte, 
c'  a  1'  amante  faria  magior  disire 
se  la  donna  co  lui  al  trapassare 
d'  esto  secol  com'  ei  vedesse  andare ; 
gia  lo  morir  nol  gli  saria  si  forte, 
e  gli  amador  che  gioia  van  no  sperando 
non  viverian  languendo  piu  tardando, 
che  1'  altre  donne  non  avrian  dottanza 
e  moverian  lor  cori  a  piu  pietanza, 
vegiendo  d'  agualglianza  il  guiderdone 
del  danno,  e  '1  prd  la  ove  amor  li  pone ; 
e  credo  a  lor  varia  merze  chiamando. 

Ancor  d'  un'  altra  cosa  amor  riprendo ; 
da  poi  due  ne  congiungie  in  un  piaciere, 
1'  un  pur  tormenta  e  facielo  dolere, 
e  1'  altra  non  costringie  di  paragio ; 
e  molti  n'  audo  van  di  cio  dolendo, 
che  non  acompie  mai  lo  lor  volere, 
da  poi  ch'  e  morto,  che  val  lo  potere? 
ci6  c'  a  sperato  puot'  om  dir  danagio. 
Perd,  s'  amor  piaciesse,  crederia 
che  piu  valor  e  presgio  gli  saria 


CHIARO   DAVANZATI  109 

s'  amendasse  di  cio  c'  agio  contato, 
ancor  che  gientil  cor  lungo  aspetato 
non  dispera  per  lunga  soferenza ; 
ma  de  1'  amor  mi  credo  piu  valenza 
fora  il  donar  la  've  '1  mistier  piu  sia. 

Alchun  porami  dir :   folle,  che  fai  ? 

riprendi  amor;   non  a.  conoscimento. 

Risponderd :   si  a  e'  valimento 

c'  aucide  ed  altoregia  cui  li  piacie; 

che  me  fatt'  a.  sentir  de  li  suoi  guai, 

ma  a  ritenuto  a  se  lo  piacimento, 

a  tal  m'  a  dato  e  messo  in  servimento. 

Tardando  assai  languir  forte  mi  facie, 

per6  che  lungiare  po  la  mia  vita; 

se  non  provede  nanti  che  perita 

sara,  che  mi  vara,  di  poi  pentere? 

gitto  a  mio  danno  '1  parlar  e  '1  vedere, 

e  se  mia  vita  rengna  per  languire 

e  non  mi  dona,  me'  fora  fallire, 

se  '1  suo  valore  di  gioia  non  m'  invita. 

Va,  canzonetta,  a  chi  sente  d'  amore, 

che  degia  Dio  pregar  per  1'  amadore 

ch'  e  morto  e  d'  esta  vita  e  trapassato,     ' 

c'  ajuti  lui  ed  ongni  namorato, 

c'  a  le  donne  umili  loro  dureza, 

c'  a  loro  amanti  donin  piu  largheza, 

non  sempre  sia  lor  vita  con  dolore. 

(V.R.V.     Tr.    Mon.) 


BONAGIUNTA  DA  LUCCA 

LIV 


Quando  appar  Y  aulente  fiore, 
lo  tempo  dolze  e  sereno, 
gli  auscelletti  infra  gli  albori 
ciascun  canta  in  suo  latino  ; 
per  lo  dolze  canto  e  fino 
si  confortan  gli  amadori, 
quelli  c'  aman  lealmente, 
ed  eo,  lasso,  no  rifino 
per  quella,  che  lo  meo  core 
va  pensoso  infra  la  giente. 

Per  quella  che  m'  a  'n  balia 
ed  a  d'  amore  con  qui  so, 
va  pensoso  notte  e  dia, 
per  quella  col  chiaro  viso. 
Co'  riguardi  e  '1  dolce  riso 
m'  a  lanciato  e  mi  distringie 
la  piu  dolze  criatura, 
lasso,  quando  m'  ebbe  priso; 
d'  amor  tuttor  mi  s'  infingie, 
pare  di  me  non  a  cura. 

Cogli  sguardi  mi  conquiso 

(a,)  parlando,  ond'  io  mi  doglio, 

lasso,  quando  m'  ebbe  preso 

or  mi  va  menando  orgoglio. 

Adunque  partir  mi  voglio 

d'  amore  e  di  suo  servirc, 

e  de  li  falsi  riguardi, 

e  sara  ci6  ch'  io  nom  soglio, 

o  fin  amor  mantenere 

per  quella  che  tutto  m'  ardi. 


BONAGIUNTA   DA   LUCCA  m 

Ben  me  ne  voria  partire 
s'  umque  lo  potesse  fare, 
m'  adoblaran  li  martire, 
non  ne  poria  in  cid  campare. 
Dumqua  mi  convene  stare 
a  la  sua  dolze  speranza, 
e  non  esser  argoglioso, 
ma  tuttor  merze  chiamare ; 
forse  ne  vera,  pietanza 
a  quella  al  viso  amoroso. 

Canzonetta  dolze  e  fina, 

va,  saluta  la  piu  giente, 

va  ne  a  quella  ch'  e  regina 

di  tutti  gli  insegnamente. 

Da  mia  parte  t'  apresenta 

e  si  la  chiama  merzede 

che  non  degia  piu  sofrire 

ch'  io  patisca  esti  tormente, 

ca  rimembrando  m'  auzide, 

e  d'  amor  mi  fa  languire. 

(V.R.V.) 


LV 

Tal  e  la  fiamma  e  lo  foco 
la  ond'  eo  'ncendo  e  coco, 

dolce  meo  sire, 

che  ismarrire 
mi  fate  lo  core  e  la  mente. 

Ismarrire  mi  fate  la  mente  e  lo  core, 
si  che  tutta  per  voi  mi  distruggo  e  disfaccio, 
cosi  come  si  sface  la  rosa  e  lo  fiore 
quando  la  sovragiungie  freddura  ne  ghiaccio; 


Ti2  BONAGIUNTA   DA   LUCCA 

cosi  son  preso  a  lo  laccio 

per  la  stranianza  vostra  in  prumera, 

come  la  fera 
amorosa  di  tutta  la  gente. 

Tant'  e  'I  foco  e  la  fiamma  ch'  el  meo  cor  abonda, 
che  non  credo  che  mai  si  poss'  astutare; 
e  non  e  nullo  membro  che  no  mi  confonda 
e  non  vegio  per  arte  ove  possa  campare, 

com'  quel  che  cade  al  mare, 

che  non  k  sostegno  ne  ritenenza 
per  la  'ncrescenza 

de  1'  onda  che  vede  frangente. 

Se  mi  sete  si  fero  com  parete  in  vista 
e  nojoso  secondo  la  ria  dimostranza, 
ancidetemi  adesso,  ch'  io  vivo  piu  trista 
che  quando  morta  fosse,  tant'  6  gran  dottanza ; 

se  la  bona  speranza 

ch'  eo  agio  di  voi  mi  rinfrangesse, 
s'  eo  m'  aucidesse 

serestene  poi  penitente. 

Io  non  v'  oso  guardare  ne  'n  viso  ne  'n  ciera, 
n&  mostrarvi  sembianti  com  fare  solea; 
che  mi  fate  una  vista  mortale,  crudera, 
com'  eo  fosse  di  voi  nemica  giudea; 
ed  esser  non  dovria, 
perch'  io  ci  colpasse ;  che  la  casgione 

de  1'  ofensione 
non  fu  che  m'  ontasse  niente. 

(Mon.) 


BONAGIUNTA   DA  LUCCA  113 

LVI 

Gioia  ne  ben  non  e  sanza  conforto, 

ne  sanza  ralegranza, 
ne  ralegranza  sanza  fino  amore. 
Rasgion,  chi  vuol  venir  a  buono  porto 

de  la  sua  disianza, 
che  'n  amoranza  metta  lo  suo  core ; 
che  per  lo  fior'  si  de'  sperar  lo  frutto 
e  per  amor  ci6  ch'  e  desiderato ; 

perche  1'  amor  e  dato 
a  gioia  ed  a  disdutto  sanza  inganno, 
ma  se  patisse  inganno  fora  strutto 
lo  ben  d'  amor,  ch'  e  tanto  confermato, 

ne  fora  disiato, 
s'  avesse  men  di  gioia  che  d'  afanno. 

Tant'  e  la  gioia,  lo  presgio  e  la  valenza, 

la  'ntendenza  e  1'  onore 
e  lo  valore  e  '1  fino  insegnamento, 
che  nascon  d'  amorosa  canoscienza, 

(che)  non  e  prenditore 
(senz'  essi)  amor'  di  veracie  empimento; 
ma  fallimento  fora  a  comquistare 
sanza  affanar  cosi  gran  dilettanza; 

ca  per  la  soperchianza 
vive  in  oranza  quei  che  s'  umilia. 
Chi  gioia  non  da  nom  p6  gioia  acquistare, 
ne  bene  amar  chi  non  a  in  se  leanza, 

ne  compier  la  speranza 
chi  non  lascia  di  quel  che  piii  disia. 

Perche  sera  fallire  a  dismisura 

a  la  pintura  andare 
chi  puo  mirare  la  propia  sostanza ; 


ii4  BONAGIUNTA   DA   LUCCA 

che  di  bel  giorno  6  vista  notte  scura 

contra  natura  fare, 
ed  apportar  lo  bene  in  malenanza. 
Perche  bastanza  fora,  donna  mia, 
se  cortesia  e  merze  in  voi  trovasse, 

che  1'  afanno  passasse, 
e  ritornasse  in  gioia  ed  im  piacere ; 
che  troppo  soferir  mi  contraria, 
com  om  ch'  e  'n  via  per  gir,  che  dimorasse 

ne  'nnanti  non  andasse, 
ne  ritornasse,  contro  a  suo  volere. 

Voler  agio  e  speranza  d'  avanzare 

lo  meo  'ncominzamento, 
per  tal  convento,  che  voi  sia  piagiente ; 
e  ben  volesse  a  retro  ritornare 

contra  lo  mio  talento, 
ne  valimento  n'  agio  ne  podere, 
cosl  mi  fere  1'  amor  che  m'  a  priso 
del  vostro  viso  giente  ed  amoroso, 

per  cui  vivo  gioioso 
e  disioso  si  che  moro  amando. 
E  ci6  ch'  io  dico  null'  e  gio',  m'  e  aviso, 
si  m'  a  comquiso  e  fatto  pauroso 

1'  amore  c'  agio  ascoso, 
ch'  io  piu  non  oso  dire  a  voi  parlando. 

(V.R.V., 


LVII 

Fin  amor  mi  comforta, 
e  lo  cor  m'  intalenta, 
madonna,  ch'  io  no  m  penta 
di  voi  s'  inamorai ; 


BONAGIUNTA   DA   LUCCA  115 

membrando  cio  che  porta 

la  vita  n'  e  contenta, 

avengna  ch'  io  ne  senta 

tormento  pur  assai. 

che  'mprimamente  amai 
per  ben  pregare  al  vostro  segnoragio 

d'  aver  fermo  coragio, 
a  cio  che  per  fermeza  non  dottasse 

che  '1  meo  labor  fallasse; 
e  chi  'ncominza  a  mezo  compimento 
se  sa  perseverar  (n)e  lo  suo  adopramento. 

Ed  io  perseverando 

la  rica  incomincianza 

condott'  6  la  speranza 

al  giorno  c'  aspettava; 

non  cierto  dispresgiando ; 

ne  voi  contra  noranza 

cometeste  fallanza, 

ch'  io  no  la  dimandava; 

che  cio  ch'  io  disiava 
non  era  fuor  di  buono  intendiniento, 

m'  a  vostro  acrescimento ; 
ne  a  bona  donna  non  si  sconvene 

s'  amor  la  sforza  bene ; 
che  tal  val  molto  che  nulla  varia 
per  inamoramento  di  donna  che  golia. 

Ond'  io  non  mi  dispero 
di  cio  c'  amor  mi  facie 
che  guerra  non  a  pacie 
ne  amor  conoscimento. 
se  non  6  cio  che  chero 
faro  come  chi  tacie 
1  2 


n6  KONAGIUNTA   DA   LUCCA 

la  cosa  che  li  spiacie 

per  fino  intendimento. 

E  si  sero  contento 
cosi  del  male  e  delle  grevi  pene 

como  saria  del  bene; 
c'  amor  a  in  se  ben  tuto  sengnoragio 

che  mi  pub  dar  coragio; 
o  1'  ire  c'  ave  e  le  pene  e  la  noia 
mi  poria  ritornare  in  suo  piacere  e  gioco. 

(V.R.V.) 

LVIII 

Ben  mi  credeva  in  tutto  esser  d'  amore 

certamente  allungiato; 
si  m'  era  fatto  selvaggio  e  straniero ! 
or  sento  che  'n  erranza  era  il  mio  core, 

che  non  m'  avia  ubliato 
ne  riguardato  il  mio  coragio  fero ; 
poiche  servo  m'  ha  dato  per  servire 

a  quella  a  cui  grandire 

si  pud  somma  piacenza 

e  somma  conoscenza; 
che  tutte  gioie  di  beltate  ha  vinto, 
si  come  grana  vince  ogn'  altro  tinto. 

Tant'  allegrezza  nel  meo  core  abonda 

di  si  alto  servaggio, 
che  m'  ha  e  tiemmi  tutto  in  suo  volere, 
che  non  posa  giammai  se  non  com'  onda, 

membrando  il  suo  visaggio, 
ch'  ammorza  ogni  altro  viso  e  fa  sparere 
in  tal  maniera  che  la  V  ella  appare 

nessun  la  puo  guardare, 

e  mettelo  in  errore; 

tant'  e  lo  suo  splendore 


BONAGIUNTA   DA   LUCCA  117 

che  passa  il  sole,  di  vertute  spera, 
e  Stella  e  luna  ed  ogn'  altra  lumera. 

Amor,  lo  tempo  ch'  era  senza  amanza, 

mi  sembra  in  veritate, 
ancor  vivessi,  ch'  era  senza  vita ! 
che  viver  senz'  amor  non  e  baldanza 

ne  possibilitate 
d'  alcun  pregio  acquistar  di  gioia  gradita : 
onde  fallisce  troppo  oltra  misura 

qual  huom  non  s'  innamora; 

ch'  amor  ha  in  se  vertude, 

del  vile  huom  face  prode ; 
s'  egli  e  villano,  in  cortesia  lo  muta, 
di  scarso  largo  addivenir  1'  aiuta. 

Ciascuna  guisa  d'  amor  graziosa, 

secondo  la  natura 
che  vien  di  gentil  loco,  ha  in  se  valore ; 
com'  arbore  quando  e  fruttiferosa, 

qual  frutto  e  piu  in  altura 
avanza  tutti  gli  altri  nel  savore ; 
onde  la  gioia  mia  passa  1'  ottima 

quant'  e  piu  d'  alta  cima  ; 

di  cui  si  puo  dir  bene 

fontana  d'  ogni  bene, 
che  di  lei  sorge  ogn'  altro  ben  terreno, 
come  acqua  viva  che  mai  non  vien  meno. 

Dunque  m'  allegro  certo  a  gran  rasione, 

ch'  io  mi  posso  allegrare, 
poi  sono  amato  ed  amo  si  altamente ; 
anzi  in  servir  mi  trovo  guiderdone 

si  soave  umiliare 
ver  me,  per  darmi  gioia,  1'  avvenente  ; 


n8  BONAOIUNTA   DA    LUCCA 

per6  piu  graziosa  e  la  mia  gioia, 

ch'  allaccia  senza  noia; 

che  non  e  costumanza ; 

cosl  gran  dilettanza 
amore  giammai  desse  a  nullo  amante, 
per6  m'  allegro  senza  simigliante. 

Considerando  tutto  quel  ch'  e  detto 

a  quel  ch'  e  a  dir  rispetto, 

e  1'  ombra  al  mio  parere; 

che  non  mi  par  sapere 
se  di  sua  forma  parlare  volessi ; 
che  solo  un  membro  laudare  compiessi. 

Giunta.) 


PUCCIANDONE  MARTELLI  DA  PISA 

LIX 

Tuttor  agg'  io  di  voi  rimembranza 
e  disianza,  donna  mia  valente. 

Tuttor  mi  membra  e  disio  vedere 
la  piacente  belta,  donna  amorosa, 
che  'n  voi  fa  porto  con  tutto  savere, 
cera  avenente,  fresca  e  graziosa ; 
la  rimembranza  tenemi  in  piacere 
e  lo  disio  'n  gran  pena  angosciosa, 
se  non  ti  vedo,  disiato  amore, 
in  cui  lo  core  tegno  con  la  mente. 

Quando  vi  veo,  donna,  in  cui  speranza 
tegno  con  tutta  fina  benvoglienza, 
aggio  allegranza,  gioia,  e  beninanza, 
e  donami  valor  con  gran  piacenza 


PUCCIANDONE   MARTELLI    DA   PISA      119 

la  vostra  angelicale  sembianza, 

che  'nver  mi  fate,  senza  percepenza 
delli  noiosi  e  delli  mal  parliedi 
che  di  voi  e  di  me  parlan  vilmente. 

Poi  de'  sembianti  tant'  aggio  allegrezza, 

ben  averia,  osasselo  mostrare; 

lo  mio  disio  fermat'  ho  'n  tale  altezza 

che  di  gran  gioia  viver6  senza  pare ; 

pregovi  per  la  vostra  gentilezza 

che  non  vi  spiaccia  lo  meo  'nnamorare : 

quando  mi  donerete  piu  podere 

meglio  servire  vi  por5  sovente. 

Entr'  alio  cor  m'  entrao  con  tal  dolzore 
lo  primo  sguardo  di  voi,  donna  mia, 
che  m'  infiammao  di  tanto  fino  amore, 
che  monta  in  me  cosi  ciascuna  dia ; 
che  'n  nulla  guisa,  donna  di  valore, 
a  compimento  contar  lo  poria : 

lingua  che  parli  tant'  aggia  (abandono) 

com'  io  sono  ver  voi  lealmente. 

Ben  mi  laudo  d'  amor,  che  m'  ha  donato 
voler  cotanto  altero  intendimento, 
che  m'  ha  di  tale  donna  inamorato, 
ch'  ell'  e  somma  di  tutto  intendimento; 
poiche  si  altamente  m'  ha  locate, 
faccia  che  piaccia  lo  meo  servimento 

a  quella  ch'  in  sua  balia  mi  tene, 

e  la  mia  spene  v'  aggio  interamente. 

(Val.) 


120 


GUIDO  DI  GUINIZELLO  DA  BOLOGNA 

LX 

Donna,  1'  amor  mi  sforza 
ch'  io  vi  degia  contare 
com'  io  son  'namorato, 
e  ciascun  giorno  inforza 
la  mia  volglia  d'  amare, 
pur  foss'  io  meritato. 
Sacciate  in  veritate, 
ca  si  e  preso  '1  mio  core 
di  voi,  incarnato  amore, 
che  moro  di  pietate, 
e  consumar  lo  fate 
in  gran  fuoco  ed  ardore. 

Nave  ch'  escie  di  porto 
con  vento  dolze  e  piano, 
fra  mar  giungie  in  altura ; 
po'  ven  lo  tempo  torto, 
tempesta  e  grande  affano 
1'  aducie  la  ventura, 
alor  si  sforza  molto 
come  possa  scampare 
che  nom  perisca  in  mare; 
cosi  1'  amor  m'  a  col  to 
e  di  buon  loco  tolto 
e  messo  a  tempestare. 

Madonna,  udit'  6  dire 
che  'n  aira  nascie  fuoco 
per  incontrar  di  venti, 
se  non  more  in  venire 


GUIDO   DI   GUINIZELLO   DA   BOLOGNA     12 1 

in  nuvoloso  loco 
ard(isc)e  inmantenente 
ci6  che  (si)  trova  iloco 
cosi  le  nostre  volglie 
a  contrare  s'  acolglie, 
la  onde  nascie  un  fuoco 
lo  qual  si  stiza  urn  poco 
in  lagrime  ed  in  doglie. 

Greve  cosa  e  servire 
segnor  contro  a  talento, 
e  sperar  guiderdone 
e  mostrare  im  parere 
che  sia  gioia  il  tormento 
contro  a  suo  openione. 
Dunque  si  de'  gradire 
di  me,  che  volglio  fare 
e  chirlanda  portare 
per  vostro  orgoglio  ed  ire, 
purche  possa  valere ; 
ma  credo  pingier  1'  are. 

A  pingier  1'  aer  son  dato, 

poi  c'  a  tal  sono  adotto ; 

laboro  e  non  aquisto. 

Lasso,  che  non  m'  e  a  grato 

c'  amor  m'  a.  a  tal  condotto ! 

fra  gli  altri  son  piu  tristo. 

Oi !   sengnor  Giesu  Cristo, 

fu'  io  per  ci6  solo  nato, 

per  stare  inamorato? 

poi  madonna  1'  a  visto, 

melgli'  e  ch'  io  mora  in  quisto ; 

forse  n'  avria  pecato. 

(V.R.V.) 


T22     GUIDO    DI    GUINIZELLO   DA    BOLOCXA 


LXI 

Madonna,  il  fino  amore  ch'  io  vi  porto 
mi  dona  si  gran  gioia  ed  allegranza 

c'  aver  mi  par  d'  amore; 
ca  d'  ogni  parte  aduciemi  comforto, 
quando  di  voi  mi  membra  1'  intendanza, 

a  farmi  da  valore 
a  cio  che  la  natura  mia  mi  mena, 

ad  esser  di  voi  fina 
d'  amor  distrettamente  inamorato; 

ne  mai  in  altro  lato 
amor  mi  pu6  dar  fino  piacimento, 
anzi  d'  aver  m'  allegra  ogni  tormento. 

Dare  allegranza  amorosa  natura 

sanz'  esser  1'  omo  a  dover  gioia  compiere, 

inganno  mi  somiglia; 
c'  amore  quand'  e  di  propia  ventura 
di  sua  natura  a  dover  a  '1  morire, 

cos!  gran  foco  pilglia : 
ed  io,  che  son  di  tale  amor  sorpreso, 

tengnomi  a  grave  meso, 
che  nom  so  che  natura  degia  complire; 

se  no  c'  audit'  6  dire 
che  quello  male  a  periglioso  inganno, 
che  V  omo  a  far  diletta  e  porta  danno. 

Sotile  voglia  mi  potria  mostrare 
come  di  voi  m'  a  preso  amore  amaro, 

ma  ci6  dire  non  volglio, 
ca  'n  tutte  guise  degiovi  laudare. 
Pero  piCi  spietosa  ven  declaro 

se  biasimo  ven  tolglio; 


GUIDO   DI   GUINIZELLO   DA   BOLOGNA     123 

e  fiavi  forse  men  danno  a  sofrire, 

c'  amor  poi  fa  bandire 
c'  a  tutta  scanoscienza  sia  in  bando, 

e  sol  ritrae  '1  comando 
a  P  acusanza '  di  colui  c'  a  '1  male ; 
ma  voi  non  blasmeria ;   istea  sevale. 

Madonna,  da  voi  tengno  ed  6  il  valore, 
perd  m'  avene,  istandovi  presente, 

ca  perdo  ogni  vertute ; 
che  le  cose  propinque  al  suo  fatore 
ritornar  volontieri  e  tostamente 

per  gir  ov'  en  nasciute : 
da  me  fanno  partute  e  vanne  in  voi 

la  've  son  tutte  e  plui  j 
e  ci6  vedemo  fare  a  ciascheduno, 

che  si  mette  in  comuno 
piii  volontera  degli  assai2  e  boni, 
che  no  sta  solo,  se  ria  parte  n'  oponi. 

In  quella  parte  sotto  tramontana 
sono  gli  monti  della  calami ta, 

che  dan  vertute  all'  are 
di  trar  lo  ferro,  ma  perch'  e  lontana 
vol  di  simile  petra  aver  1'  aita 

per  farla  adoperare 
si,  che  P  ago  si  driza  ver  la  Stella. 

E  voi  pur  siete  quella 
che  presedete  i  monti  del  valore 

onde  si  spande  amore, 
e  gia  per  lontananza  non  e  vano, 
che  senza  aita  adopera  lontano. 

1  qy.  scusanza.  2  qy.  saggi. 


i24     OUIDO   DI   GUINIZELLO   DA    BOLOGNA 

Ai  Deo !   como  faragio  ed  in  che  guisa  ? 
che  ciascun  giorno  canto  all'  avenente, 

ne  'ntender  me  non  pare, 
ne  in  lei  non  trovo  bona  alcuna  intesa 
com'  eo  possa  mandar  umilemente 

a  lei  merze  chiamare; 
e  saccio  ch'  eo  ne  porto  sagio  fino, 

c'  amor  che  m'  a.  in  dimino 
mostra  c'  ongni  parola  ch'  io  fuor  porto 

porti  uno  core  morto, 
feruto  a  la  sconfitta  del  mio  core 
che  fugie  la  batalglia,  e  vince  amore. 

Madonna,  le  paraule  in  ci6  ch'  io  dico 
pur  mostrano  ch'  in  me  sia  dismisura 

d'  ogni  forfalsitate, 
che  non  trovo  merze  ('n>  ci6  che  fatico, 
ne  par  c'  amor  per  me  possa  drittura 

for  vostra  potestate; 
e  nom  posso  sentire  onde  m'  avene, 

se  non  ch'  io  pemso  bene 
c'  amor  ave  reposta  in  voi  amanza  ; 

e  credolo  in  ciertanza 
ch'  ello  vi  dica:   tello  'namorato, 
ch'  ell'  afini ;   poi  moia  disamato. 

D'  ora  in  avanti  parto  lo  cantare 

da  me,  ma  non  1'  amare ; 
e  sia  omai  in  vostra  canoscienza 

lo  don  di  benvolenza  ; 
che  credo  aver  per  voi  tanto  inarato; 
se  ben  si  paga,  molto  e  V  aquistato. 

(V.R.V.) 


GUIDO   DI   GUINIZELLO   DA   BOLOGNA     125 


LXII 

Tengnol  di  folle  impresa,  a  lo  ver  dire, 
chi  s'  abandona  inver  troppo  possente, 
sicomo  gli  occhi  miei  che  fen  resmire 
incontra  quei  della  pift  avenente; 

che  sol  per  lor  en  vinti 
senza  c'  altre  bellezze  li  dian  forza, 

c'  a  cio  fare  son  pinti 
sicome  baronia  di  sengnore, 

quando  vuol  usar  forza, 
tutta  s'  apresta  in  donarli  valore. 

Di  si  forte  valor  lo  colpo  venne 
che  gli  occhi  nol  ritenner  di  neente, 
ma  passo  dentro  al  cor,  che  lo  sostenne 
e  sentesi  piagato  duramente; 

e  poi  li  rende  pace, 
come  troppo  agravato,  che  si  posa 

e  more  in  letto  e  giace; 
ella  non  mette  cura  di  niente, 

ma  vassen  disdegnosa, 
che  si  vede  alta,  bella  ed  avenente. 

Ben  si  pu6  tener  alta  quanto  vole, 
che  la  piii  bella  donna  e  che  si  trove, 
ed  intra  1'  altre  par  lucente  sole 
e  falle  disparer  a  tutte  prove ; 

che  'n  lei  enno  adornezze, 
gentilezze,  savere  e  bel  parlare 

e  sovrane  bellezze, 
tutto  valor  in  lei  par  che  si  metta ; 

posso  in  breve  contare  — 
madonna  e  delle  donne  gioia  eletta. 


126     GUIDO   DI   GUINIZELLO   DA   BOLOGNA 

Ben  e  eletta  gioia  da  vedere 

quand'  appar  entra  1'  altre  piu  adoma, 

che  tutta  la  rivera  fa  lucere 

e  ci6  che  1'  e  d'  incierchio  allegro  torna; 

la  notte  s'  apariscie,1 
come  lo  sol  di  giorno  da  splendore, 

cosi  1'  aer  solarisce ; 
ond'  el  giorno  ne  porta  grand'  enveggia, 

ch'  ei  solo  avea  clarore, 
ora  la  notte  igualmente  i  pareggia. 

Amor  m'  a.  dato  a  madonna  servire; 
o  vogli'  io  o  non  voglia,  cosi  este ; 
ne  saccio  certo  ben  ragion  vedere 
sicomo  sia  caduto  a  'ste  tempeste ; 

da  lei  non  6  sembiante 
ed  ella  non  mi  fa  vista  amorosa 

perch'  eo  divengn'  amante, 
se  non  per  dritta  forza  di  valore 

che  la  rende  gioiosa ; 
onde  mi  piace  morir  per  su'  amore. 

(Val.  Nan.  Mon., 

LXIII 

Con  gran  disio  pensando  lungamente 

amor  che  cosa  sia, 
e  donde  e  come  prende  movimento 
deliberar  mi  par  infra  la  mente 

per  una  cotal  via 
che  per  tre  cose  sente  compimento; 

ancorch'  e  fallimento 

volendo  ragionare 

di  cosi  grande  affare, 

1  qy.  si  spariscic. 


GUIDO   DI  GUINIZELLO   DA   BOLOGNA     127 

ma  scusami  ch'  io  si  fortemente 

sento  li  suoi  tormente,  ond'  io  mi  doglio. 

E'  par  che  di  verace  piacimento 

lo  fino  amor  discenda, 
guardando  quel  c'  al  cor  torni  piacente 
che  poi  c'  om  guarda  cosa  di  talento? 

al  cor  pensieri  abbenda, 
e  cresce  con  disio  immantinente, 

e  poi  dirittamente 

fiorisce  e  mena  frutto ; 

pero  mi  sento  isdutto, 
P  amor  crescendo  fiori  e  frutti  a  messe, 
e  vien  la  messe,  e  '1  frutto  non  ricoglio 

Di  cio  prender  dolore  deve  e  pianto 

lo  core  inamorato 
e  lamentar  di  sua  disaventura ; 
perocche  nulla  cosa  all'  uomo  e  tanto 

gravoso  riputato 
che  sostenere  afanno  e  gran  tortura, 

servendo  per  calura 

d'  essere  meritato, 

e  poi  lo  suo  pensato 
non  a  compita  la  sua  disianza 
e  per  pietanza  trova  pur  orgoglio. 

Orgoglio  mi  mostrate.  donna  fina, 

ed  io  pietanza  chero 
a  voi,  che  tutte  cose,  al  mio  parvente 
dimorano  a  piacere ;  a  voi  s'  inchina 

vostro  servente,  e  spero 
ristoro  aver  di  voi,  donna  valente ; 

che  avvene  spessamente 


i28     GUIDO   DI   GUINIZELLO   DA   BOLOGNA 

che  '1  ben  servire  a  grato 

non  e  rimeritato ; 
allotta  che  '1  servente  aspetta  bene 
tempo  rivene  che  merta  ogni  scoglio. 


(Val.  Nan.) 


LXIV 

Al  cor  gentil  ripara  sempre  amore 
com  alia  selva  augello  in  la  verdura ; 
ne  fe  amor  anzi  che  gentil  core, 
ne  gentil  core  anzi  d'  amor  natura, 

c'  adesso  che  fu  1  il  sole 
si  tosto  lo  splendore  fu  lucente, 

ne  fu  davanti  al  sole ; 
e  prende  amor  in  gentilezza  loco 

cosi  propiamente 
come  chiarore  in  clarita  di  foco. 

Foco  d'  amor  in  gentil  core  aprende, 
come  vertute  in  pietra  preziosa, 
che  alia  Stella  valor  non  discende 
anzi  che  '1  sol  la  faccia  gentil  cosa ; 

poiche  n'  a  tratto  fore 
per  forza  il  sole  cid  che  'n  ell'  e  vile, 

Stella  li  da  valore; 
cosi  al  cor  ch'  e  fatto  da  natura 

schietto,  puro  e  gentile 
donna  a  guisa  di  Stella  lo  'namora. 

Amor  per  tal  ragion  sta  in  cor  gentile 
per  qual  lo  foco  in  cima  del  doppiero, 
splendeli  al  suo  diletto,  claro,  sottile, 
non  li  sta  in  altra  guisa,  tant'  c  fero ; 

1  qy.  com  fu. 


GUIDO   DI   GUINIZELLO    DA   BOLOGNA     129 

per6  prava  natura 
rincontra  amor  come  fa  1'  aigua  il  foco, 

caldo  per  la  fredura ; 
amor  in  cor  gentil  prende  rivera 

per  suo  consimil  loco 
come  damas  del  ferro  in  la  minera. 

Fere  lo  sole  il  fango  tutto  '1  giorno, 
vile  riman,  ne  '1  sol  perde  calore; 
disse  orao  altier :   Gentil  per  schiatta  torno ; 
lui  sembro  al  fango,  al  sol  gentil  valore; 

che  non  de'  dar  om  fe 
che  gientilezza  sia  fuor  di  coragio 

in  dengnita  di  re, 
se  da  vertute  non  a  gentil  core; 

com'  aigua  porta  ragio, 
e  '1  ciel  retien  le  stelle  e  lo  splendore. 

Splende  in  la  intelligenzia  del  cielo 
Deo  creator  piu  ch'  in  nostri  occhi  '1  sole 
quella  intende  '1  suo  fattor  oltre  cielo, 
lo  ciel  volgendo  a  lui  obedir  tole, 

e  com  segue  al  primero 
dal  giusto  Deo  beato  compimento, 

cosi  dar  dovria  il  vero 
la  bella  donna  che  negli  occhi  splende 

del  suo  gentil  talento 
chi  mai  da  lei  ubidir  non  disaprende. 

Donna,  Deo  mi  dira  :   Che  presumisti 
(istando  1'  alma  mia  a  lui  davanti), 
il  ciel  passasti  e  fino  a  me  venisti, 
e  desti  in  vano  amor  me  per  sembianti; 

c'  a  me  convien  la  laude, 
e  alia  reina  del  reame  dengno, 


i3o     GUIDO   DI   GUINIZELLO  DA    BOLOGNA 

per  cui  cessa  ogni  fraude. 
Dirli  poria  :  Tenne  d'  angiel  sembianza 

che  fosse  del  tuo  rengno ; 
non  mi  fu  fallo  s'  io  le  posi  amanza. 

(V.R.V.   Giunta,  Mon.  &c.) 


ONESTO  DA  BOLOGNA 

LXV 

Ahime,  lasso  taupino !  altro  che  lasso 
non  posso  dir,  s'  io  sono  a  greve  meso ; 
sentomi  '1  cor  e  ciascun  membro  preso 
morir  si  forte  ch'  oltre  a  morte  passo; 
celar  non  posso  pifi  la  greve  noia, 

tanto  contr'  a  me  poia 
pena  mortale  e  rea  disaventura ; 

per6  quanto  piu  dura 
la  vita  mia  piu  soverchia  il  dolore : 
male  ad  uopo  meo  m'  a.  creato  amore. 

SI  m'  ai  tu  fatto,  amor,  ad  uopo  meo 
che  m'  e  vergogna  dir  ci6  che  m'  incontra ; 
tutto  fui  fatto  solo  a  mia  rincontra, 
per6  nol  chiamo  amor,  ma  amaro  e  reo 
per  cui  lo  cor  meo  chiamo  core  morto, 

ingiuriato  a  torto; 
ed  anche  me  chiamo  per  lui  mal  nato, 

perch'  e  si  sventurato 
c'  ogni  mio  membro  si  batte  e  s'  adira, 
piangono  gli  occhi  e  1'  anima  sospira. 

Piangere  gli  occhi  e  lagrimar  tutt'  ora 
e  di  pianto  bagnar  tutto  mio  viso 


ONESTO   DA   BOLOGNA  131 

possono  ben,  guardando  a  me  conquiso, 
e  per  lo  corpo  lasso  ove  dimora 
1'  anima  mia  per  forz'  a  sospirare, 

che  gli1  e  morte  lo  stare 
piu  con  lo  corpo,  c'  arde  piu  che  'n  foco, 

e  in  nessun  altro  loco 
potrebbe  peggiorar  sua  condizione, 
si  m'  a  condotto  amor  contro  a  ragione. 

Ragion  non  fa  chi  m'  accusa  e  riprende, 
che  contro  al  mio  voler  amor  mi  mena; 
ma  chi  non  si  conduol  della  mia  pena 
secondo  umanita,  pietade  offende ; 
dolor  sente  ciascun  naturalmente, 

che  dovria  tutta  gente 
gir  per  chiamar  pieta.  alia  donna  mia, 

e  quando  va  per  via 
dovria  ciascun  gridar :    Merze,  merzede, 
che  non  m'  ancida  s'  eo  1'  amo  di  fede. 

Di  fede  e  di  pieta,  canzon,  vestita 
vatti  alle  donne  e  gettati  a  lor  piede, 
che  preghin  quella  ch'  ell'  aggia  merzede 
un  po'  per  Deo  della  mia  lassa  vita ; 
di  che  Deo  si  com'  ama  pietate 

condanna  crudeltate, 
la  'nde  di  ci6  assai  piu  me  dogl'  eo 

con  fede  mia  per  Deo, 
che  in  ogni  parte  a  messo  stato  buono ; 
ma  quanto  per  me  posso  io  gliel  perdono. 


1  w-  l'- 


K   2 


(Val.) 


132  ONESTO   DA   BOLOGNA 


LXVI 

La  partenza  che  fo  dolorosa 
e  gravosa  piu  d'  altra  m'  aucide 
per  mia  fede  di  voi,  bel  diporto. 

Si  m'  aucide  '1  partir  doloroso 
ch'  eo  non  (oso)  pur  a  pensare 
al  dolor  che  convienmi  portare 
nel  mio  core  di  vita  pauroso: 
per  lo  gravoso  stato  e  dolente 
lo  qual  sente :  com  dunque  faraggio 
m'  aucideraggio  per  men  disconforto. 

S'  eo  mi  dico  di  dar  morte  fera, 
gioia  stranera  non  vi  paia  audire; 
ahi,  null'  omo  ode  il  mio  languire, 
mea  pena  dogliosa  e  crudera 
che  dispera  lo  coraggio  e  V  alma; 
tanta  salma  a  di  pena  e  abbondanza, 
poi  pietanza  a  merzk-fece  torto. 

Torto  fece,  e  falli  ver  me  lasso, 
ch'  eo  trapasso  ogni  amante  leale; 
ciascun  giorno  piu  cresce  piu  sale 
1'  amor  fino  ch'  eo  porto  nel  casso, 
e  non  lasso  per  null'  increscenza, 
che  'n  sofrenza  conviene  che  sia 
chi  disia  1'  amoroso  conforto. 

Poi  pietanza  in  altrui  non  si  sciovra, 
e  s'  adovra  in  altrui  fuor  che  meve, 
pianto  mio,  vanne  a  quella  che  deve 
rimembrarsi  di  mia  vita  povra ; 


ONESTO   DA   BOLOGNA  133 

di  che  scovra  ver  me  suo  volere; 

se  'n  piacer  1'  e  ch'  eo  senta  la  morte, 

a  me  forte  gradisce  esser  morto. 

(Giunta.   Val.  Nan.) 

GUIDO  CAVALCANTI  DA  FIRENZE 
LXVII 

Donna  mi  prega,  perche  voglio  dire 

d'  un  accidente  che  sovente  e  fero, 

ed  e  si  fero  ch'  e  chiamato  amore, 

si  che  chi  '1  nega  possa  il  ver  sentire. 

Ed  al  presente  conoscente  chero, 

perch'  io  non  spero  ch'  om  di  basso  core 

a  tal  ragione  porti  conoscenza ; 

che  senza  natural  dimostramento 

non  ho  talento  di  voler  provare 

la,  dov'  ei  posa  e  chi  lo  fa  criare, 

e  qual  e  sua  vertute  e  sua  potenza, 

1'  essenza,  e  poi  ciascun  suo  movimento, 

e  '1  piacimento  che  '1  fa  dir  amare, 

e  s'  omo  per  veder  lo  puo  mostrare. 

In  quella  parte  dove  sta  memora 
prende  suo  stato,  si  formato  come 
diafan  dal  lome,  d'  una  oscuritate 
la  qual  da  Marte  viene  e  fa  dimora. 
Egli  e  creato  ed  a  sensato  nome, 
d'  alma  costume,  e  di  cor  volontate ; 
vien  da  veduta  forma  che  s'  intende 
che  prende  nel  possibile  intelletto 
come  in  suggetto  loco  e  dimoranza ; 
in  quella  parte  mai  non  a  pesanza ', 

1  qy.  posanza,  possanza. 


134       GUIDO   CAVALCANTI   DA  FIRENZE 

perche  da  qualitate  non  discende; 
risplende  in  se  perpetuale  affetto; 
non  a  diletto,  ma  consideranza, 
si  che  non  pote  largir  somiglianza. 

Non  e  vertute,  ma  da  quella  viene, 

ch'  e  perfezione  che  si  pone  tale; 

non  razionale,  ma  che  sente  dico ; 

fuor  di  salute  giudicar  mantiene, 

e  P  intenzione  per  ragione  vale; 

discerne  male  in  cui  e  vizio  amico ; 

di  sua  potenza  segue  spesso  morte, 

se  forte  la  virtu  fosse  impedita, 

la  quale  aita  la  contraria  via ; 

non  perche  opposto  naturale  sia, 

ma  quanto  che  da  buon  perfetto  tort'  e 

per  sorte,  non  pu6  dir  om  c'  aggia  vita, 

che  stabilita  non  a  signoria; 

a  simil  pu6  valor  quand'  om  1'  oblia. 

L'  esser  e,  quando  lo  volere  e  tanto 
c'  oltra  misura  di  natura  torna; 
poi  non  s'  adorna  di  riposo  mai, 
move,  cangiando  core,  riso  e  pianto, 
e  la  figura  con  pietate  stoma; 
poco  soggiorna;   ancor  di  lui  vedrai 
che  'n  gente  di  valor  lo  piu  si  trova; 
la  nuova  qualita  move  i  sospiri, 
e  vuol  c'  om  miri  non  fermato  loco, 
destandosi  ira  la  qual  manda  foco; 
imaginar  non  pot'  om  che  nol  prova; 
e  non  si  mova  perch'  a  lui  si  tiri, 
e  non  si  giri  per  trovarvi  gioco, 
ne  certamente  gran  saver  ne  poco. 


GUIDO   CAVALCANTI   DA   FIRENZE       135 

Di  simil  tragge  complessione  sguardo, 
che  fa  parere  lo  piacere  certo; 
non  pu6  coperto  star  quando  e  sorgiunto, 
non  gia  selvagge  le  bilta  son  dardo, 
che  tal  volere  per  temere  e  sperto; 
consegue  merto  spirito  ch'  e  punto; 
e  non  si  pu6  conoscer  per  lo  viso, 
c'  om  priso  bianco  in  tal  obietto  cade, 
e  chi  ben  vade  forma  non  li  vede, 
perche  lo  mena  chi  da  lei  procede 
fuor  di  colore,  d'  essere  diviso, 
assiso  in  mezzo  oscuro,  luci  rade ; 
fuor  d'  ogni  fraude  dicer  degno  in  fede, 
che  solo  di  costui  nasce  mercede. 

Tu  puoi  sicuramente  gir,  canzone, 
dove  ti  piace ;   ch'  i'  6  si  t'  adornata 
c'  assai  lodata  sara  tua  ragione 
dalle  persone  c'  anno  intendimento ; 
di  star  con  1'  altre  tu  non  ai  talento. 

(Giunta.  Val.   Nan.   Mon) 

LXVIII 

Poiche  di  doglia  cor  convien  ch'  io  porti, 
e  sento  di  piacere  ardente  foco, 
che  di  vertu  mi  tragge  a  si  vil  loco, 
diro  com'  6  perduto  ogni  valore. 

Io  dico  che  miei  spiriti  son  morti, 
e  '1  cor,  c'  a  tanta  guerra  e  vita  poco ; 
e  se  non  fosse  che  '1  morir  m'  e  gioco, 
fare'  ne  di  pieta  piangere  amore. 

Ma  per  lo  folle  tempo  che  m'  a  giunto 
mi  cangio  di  mia  ferma  opinione 
in  altrui  condizione; 


136       GUIDO  CAVALCANTI   DA   FIRENZE 

si  ch'  io  non  mostro  quanto  io  sento  affanno 

la.  'nd'  io  ricevo  inganno ; 
che  dentro  dello  cor  mi  passa  amanza, 
che  se  ne  porta  tutta  mia  speranza. 

(Giunta.  Val.  Nan.) 


CINO  DA  PISTOIA 

LXIX 

Avegna  ch'  io  non  aggio  piu  per  tempo 
per  voi  richiesto  pietate  ed  amore 
per  confortar  la  vostra  greve  vita, 
non  e  ancor  si  trapassato  il  tempo 
che  '1  mio  sermon  non  trovi  il  vostro  core 
piangendo  star  con  1'  anima  smarrita, 
fra  se  dicendo :   Gia  te  n'  ei  'n  ciel  gita, 
beata  gioia,  come  chiamava  il  nome; 

lasso  me,  quando  e  come 
vedervi  potr6  io  visibilmente 

si  che  ancora  a  presente 
far  i'  vi  possa  di  conforto  aita? 
dunque  m'  udite,  ch'  io  parlo  a  posta 
d'  amor,  alii  sospir  ponendo  sosta. 

Noi  provamo  che  in  questo  cieco  mondo 
ciascun  si  vive  in  angosciosa  noia; 
chi  non  a  avversita,  Ventura  il  tira; 
beata  1'  alma  che  lascia  tal  pondo 
e  va  nel  ciel  ov'  e  compiuta  gioia, 
gioioso  il  cor  for  di  corrotto  ed  ira : 
or  dunque  di  che  il  vostro  cor  sospira, 
che  rallegrar  si  de'  del  suo  maggiore? 

che  Dio  nostro  signore 
volse  di  lei,  com'  avea  1'  angel  detto, 


CINO   DA   PISTOIA  137 

per  fame  il  ciel  perfetto; 
per  nova  cosa  ogni  santo  la  mira, 
ed  ella  sta  dinanzi1  alia  salute, 
inver  lei  parla  d'  ogni  sua  vertute. 

Di  che  vi  stringe  il  cor?  che  pianto  adopra? 

che  dovresti  d'  amor  sopraggioire, 

c'  avete  in  ciel  la  mente  e  1'  intelletto; 

li  spirti  vostri  trapassar  di  sopra 

per  sua  vertu  nel  ciel ;  tale  e  '1  disire 

c'  amor  la  su  li  pinge  per  diletto. 

O  omo  saggio,  o  Dio,  perche  distretto 

vi  tien  cosi  1'  affannoso  pensiero? 

per  suo  onor  vi  chero 
c'  allegramente  prendiate  conforto, 

ne  abbiate  piu  il  cor  morto, 
ne  figura  di  morte  in  vostro  aspetto 
per6  che  Dio  locata  1'  a.  fra  i  suoi, 
e  tuttora  dimora  ella  con  voi. 

Conforto  gia,  conforto  Y  amor  chiama, 
e  pieta  prega,  per  Dio,  fate  presto; 
or  inchinate  a  si  dolce  preghiera, 
spogliatevi  di  questa  veste  grama, 
da  che  voi  siete  per  ragion  richiesto ; 
che  1'  omo  per  dolor  muore  e  dispera. 
Come  vedrete  poi  la  bella  ciera 
se  v'  accogliesse  morte  in  disperanza? 

da  si  greve  pesanza 
traete  il  vostro  core  omai,  per  Dio; 

che  non  sia  cosi  rio 
ver  1'  alma  vostra,  che  ancora  ispera 
vederla  in  cielo,  star  nelle  sue  braccia; 
dunque  di  speme  confortarvi  piaccia. 

1  qy.  stando  innanzi. 


138  CINO   DA   PISTOIA 

Mirate  nel  piacer  ove  dimora 
la  vostra  donna  ch'  e  in  ciel  coronata 
ond'  e  la  vostra  speme  in  paradiso; 
e  tutta  santa,  ormai  vostra,  inamora 
contemplando  nel  ciel  dov'  e  locata; 
il  vostro  cor  per  cui  ista  diviso, 
che  pinto  tiene  in  se  beato  viso? 
secondo  ch'  era  qua  giu  maraviglia, 

cosi  lassu  simiglia; 
tanto  piu  quant'  e  me'  conosciuta ; 

come  fu  ricevuta 
dagli  angioli  con  dolce  canto  e  riso, 
gli  spirti  vostri  rapportato  1'  anno, 
che  spesse  volte  quel  viaggio  fanno. 

Lassu  parla  di  voi  con  que'  beati, 
e  dice  loro :    '  Mentre  ch'  io  fui 
nel  mondo  ricevetti  onor  da  lui, 
laudando  me  ne'  suoi  detti  laudati ' ; 
e  prega  Dio  lor *  signor  verace, 
che  vi  conforti  si  come  lui  piace. 

(Vil.   Tr.    D'A.  &  B.) 

LXX 

Degno  son  io  ch'  i'  mora, 

donna,  quando  vi  mostro 
ch'  i'  6  degli  occhi  vostri  amor  furato ; 

che  certo  si  celato 

men  venni  al  lato  vostro, 
che  non  sapesti  quando  io 2  n'  usci'  fora ; 
ed  or  perche  davanti  io  non  m'  attento 

mostrarlo  in  vista  vera, 

ben  e  ragion  ch'  io  pera, 
solo  per  questo  mio  folle  ardimento : 

1  qy.  Io  xb,  .  .  .  *  qy.  ei. 


CINO   DA  P1STOIA  139 

ch'  io  dovea  innanzi,  poi  che  cosi  era, 

sofrir  ogni  tormento, 

che  fame  mostramento 
a  voi  c'  oltre  a  natura  sete  altera. 

Ben  son  stato  ozioso 

poi  ch'  ho  seguito  quanto 
mostrar  ver  me  disdegno  vi  piacesse; 

ma  se  non  vi  calesse 

di  mie  follie  alquanto, 
destando  il  vostro  cor  non  disdegnoso ; 
perciocche  questo  amor  c'  allor  furai 

per  se  stesso  m'  ancide, 

e  dentro  mi  conquide, 
sovente  mi  fa  rio  tragger  piu  guai, 
e  in  tal  guisa  il  mio  cor,  lasso,  divide, 

che  dentro  a  lui  menai ; 

donna  mia,  unque  mai 
cosi  fatto  giudizio  non  si  vide. 

Di  mi'  ardir  non  vi  caglia, 

donna,  che  vostra  altezza 
mover  non  si  convien  contro  si  basso ; 

lasciatemi  gir,  lasso; 

c'  a  finir  mia  gravezza 
fo  con  la  morte  volontier  battaglia. 
Vedete  ben  che  non  6  piu  possanza  ; 

dunque  al  mio  folleggiare 

piacciavi  perdonare, 
non  per  ragion,  ma  vincavi  pietanza ; 
ben  piu  che  far  vendetta  e  da  lodare 

signor anza 

che  perdonanza 

usa  nel  tempo  che  puo  gastigare 

(Vil.) 


Mo  CINO   DA   PISTOIA 


LXXI 

Non  spero  che  gia  mai  per  mia  salute 
si  faccia,  o  per  vertute  di  soffrenza, 

o  d'  altra  cosa, 
questa  sdegnosa  di  pietate  arnica, 
poi  non  s'  e  mossa  da  ch'  ell'  a  vedute 
le  lagrime  venute  per  potenza 

della  gravosa 
pena,  che  posa  nel  cuor  c'  a.  fatica ; 
per6,  tornando  a  pianger  la  mia  mente, 
cosi  dolente  vado  tuttavia, 
com'  om  che  non  sente  ne  sa  ove  sia 
da  campar,  altrove  ch'  in  parte  ria. 
Non  so  chi  di  ci6  faccia  conoscente 
piu  omai  la  gente,  che  la  vista  mia, 

che  mostra  apertamente 

come  1'  alma  disia, 
per  non  vedersi  il  cor,  partirsi  via. 

Questa  mia  donna  prese  nimistate 
allor  contra  pietate  che  s'  accorse, 

ch'  era  apparita 
nella  smarrita  figura  ch'  io  porto, 
per6  che  vide  tanta  nobiltate 
cosi  pone  in  viltate  chi  mi  porse 

quella  ferita, 
la  quale  e  ita  si  che  m'  a  '1  cor  morto. 
Pietanza  lo  dimostra,  ond'  e  sdegnata 
ed  adirata  per  questo  che  vede; 
ch'  ella  fu  risguardata  ove  non  crede 
c'  altri  riguardi,  per  vertu  che  fiede 
d'  una  lancia  mortal,  c'  ogni  fiata 
ch'  e  afilata  di  piacer  procede; 


CINO   DA  PISTOIA  141 

io  1'  6  nel  cor  portata 
da  poi  c'  amor  mi  diede 
tanto  d'  ardir  ch'  io  vi  mirai  con  fede. 

Io  la  vidi  si  bella  e  si  gentile 
ed  in  vista  si  umile,  che  per  forza 

del  suo  piacere 
a  lei  veder  menaron  gli  occhi  il  core. 
Partissi  allora  ciascun  pensier  vile, 
e  amore,  ch'  e  sottile  si  che  sforza 

1'  altrui  savere 
al  suo  volere,  mi  si  fe  signore. 
Dunque  non  muove  ragion  il  disdegno, 
ch'  io  convegno  seguire  isforzato 
lo  mio  disio  secondo  ch'  egli  e  nato, 
ancor  che  da  vertu  sia  scompagnato; 
perche  non  e  cagion,  ch'  io  non  son  degno; 
c'  a  cid  vegno  come  quei  ch'  e  menato ; 

ma  questo  sol  m'  assegno, 

morendo  sconsolato, 
c'  amor  fa  di  ragion  ci6  che  gli  e  grato. 

(Vil.) 


ABBREVIATIONS   USED   IN  THE   NOTES 

D.  C.  =  Divina  Commedia. 

V.N.  =  Vita  Nuova. 

V.  E.  =  De  Vtdgari  Eloquentia. 

Conv.  =  Convivio. 

All.  =  Allacci. 

Val.  =  Valeriani. 

Mon.  =  Monaci,  Crestomazia  Italiana. 

V.  R.  V.  = //  Libro  de   Varie  Romanse    Volgare  (Cod. 

Vat.  3793),  a  cura  di  S.  Satta. 
A.  R.  V.  =  Antiche  Rime  Volgari  (Cod.  Vat.  3793),  pub- 

blicate  per  cura  di  A.  d'  Ancona  e  D.  Com- 

paretti. 
Chig.  MS.        =  Chigian  Manuscript. 
Gloss.  Occ.       =  Glossaire  Occitanien. 
Vill.  =  Villarosa,  Rime  Antiche  Toscane. 

Nan.  =  Nannucci,    Manuale    della   Letteratura    del 

primo  secolo  della  Lingua  Italiana. 
D'Anc.eBac.  =  D'  Ancona  e  Bacci,  Storia  della  Letteratura 

Italiana. 


NOTES 


NOTES 
I. 

For  the  history  of  Piero  delle  Vigne,  or  Petrus  de  Vineis, 
students  may  refer  to  almost  any  commentary  on  Dante,  Inf.  xiii. 
58  sqq.  Dante  does  not  cite  him  as  a  poet ;  but  he  was  one  of 
the  earliest  vernacular  Italian  versifiers  ;  and  the  facts  that  he 
died  about  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  that  from 
1230  or  so  onwards  he  was  busily  engaged  in  State  affairs,  hold- 
ing the  offices  of  logothete  and  protonotary  to  Frederick  II,  whose 
right-hand  man  he  was  for  many  years,  entitle  us  to  refer  most 
of  his  poems  to  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  century ;  while  the 
existence  of  a  tenzone,  or  poetical  debate,  on  the  nature  of  love, 
between  him,  Jacopo  Mostacci,  and  the  Notary  of  Lentino, 
enables  us  more  or  less  to  date  those  writers,  less  known  to  general 
history.  Pietro  is  generally  credited  with  having  invented  the 
sonnet,  the  indigenous  and  most  typical  form  of  Italian  poetry. 

The  actual  date  of  the  present  piece  is  not  known  ;  but  I  have 
placed  it  at  the  head  of  this  collection,  as  it  seems  thoroughly 
to  strike  the  key-note  of '  Trecentist '  verse.  Allacci,  who  includes 
it  in  his  selection,  assigns  it  to  the  Notary.  His  text  varies 
a  good  deal  from  that  of  the  Vat.  MSS. 

It  will  be  noted  how  each  stanza  opens  with  one  or  two  of  the 
words  with  which  its  predecessor  concludes.  A  similar  artifice 
occurs  in  Nos.  XIII,  XLV. 

The  'art',  as  Dante  calls  it,  or  structure  of  the  stanza,  is 
simple.  The  lines  are  hendecasyllabic,  with  the  exception  of  9 
and  10,  which  are  heptasyllabic.  The  metre  is  iambic.  The 
rimes  run  ABCABC,  CDEEDC.  The  few  internal  rimes,  as  in 
St.  2.  8  and  4.  2,  are  probably  accidental. 

Stanza  1, 1.  1.  ed  ene.  V.R.V.  reads  ene.  A.  R.V.,  follow- 
ing Allacci,  has  e  vene.  This  is  slightly  nearer  to  the 
ductus  literarum ;    ene  gives  a  much  better  sense,  when  we 

BUTLER  L 


146  NOTES 

remember  the  'movemur  et  sumus'  of  Acts  xvii.  28,  besides 
avoiding  the  awkward  repetition  in  1.  3,  so  that  I  have  preferred  to 
regard  the  «asa  blinder  of  the  scribe  (or  reader)  for  n.  The 
ne  may  be  the  not  uncommon  superfluous  enclitic  (as,  for  instance, 
vane  in  Purg.  xxv.  42; ;  or,  better,  have  its  full  force  of '  thence ', 
inde.     The  insertion  of  ed  seems  quite  permissible. 

1.  4.  divisare :  '  describe.'  So  Purg.  xxix.  82.  The  anno- 
tator  (Rovillin)  of  the  Lyons  ed.  (1551)  of  Dante  calls  it  'modo 
di  parlar  Francese  '.     It  is  certainly  a  Provencalism. 

1.  7.     ma  si.    We  say  '  but  even  so '. 

1.  10.  ca  =  che ;  both  'that'  and  'than',  quod  and  quam. 
The  latter  sense  was  no  doubt  the  original ;  ca  is  intermediate 
between  quam  and  che.     It  is  a  common  form  in  early  Italian. 

I.  11.    tale.    All.  has  si  gran. 

Stanza  2, 1.  i.    Istato :  i  is  extra  metrum. 

1.  4.    norato  :  onorato.    The  omission  of  the  0  is  very  usual. 

1.  7.    c'  a.    All.  che. 

1.  9.  aunor =onor ;  a  very  frequent  form.  Conoscenza,  often 
written  canoscenza,  '  intelligence  ',  is  another  stock  attribute  of 
the  '  donna '. 

1.  11.    talento.  'will',  'inclination' ;  as  often  in  Dante. 

Stanza  3, 1.  1.  ad  essa  :  V.R.V.  adesa.  Perhaps  we  should 
read  adesso ;  esso  indeclinable  is  often  appended  to  a  preposi- 
tion with  an  intensitive  force.  Thus  soflresso,  Inf.  xxiii.  54; 
conesso,  Purg.  iv.  27.  See  Diez,  ii.  426.  It  must  not  be 
confused  with  adesso,  adverb  of  time,  davanza  :  probably 
only  '  superabounds ' ;  though  the  verb  davanzare,  formed  from 
adverb  d'avanso,  does  not  occur  later,  nor  is  it  recognized  by 
Crusca.  It  may  conceivably  be  adapted  from  Prov.  davant  anar, 
'  to  precede,  escort ' :  in  which  case  one  is  reminded  of  Ps.  xcvi. 
6,  where  an  Italian  version  of  1573  has  'la  gloria  e  1'  ornamento 
avanti  a  quello '.  Such  Scriptural  reminiscences,  with  ascription 
to  the  lady  of  divine  qualities,  are  frequent — and  daring — enough 
in  these  poems,  just  as  they  were  commonplaces  of  courtly 
flattery. 

1.  8.  briga  (Fr.  brigue=i  intrigue '),  a  word  of  obscure  origin, 
means  '  strife ',  '  worry '.  briga  di  n.  e  d'af.  m '  having  to  struggle 
with  annoy  and  weariness '.    (V.R.V.  edinoia—tht  e  superfluous). 


NOTES  r47 

1.  9.  V.R.V.  corico  firagione,  obviously  corrupt.  The  slight 
alteration  of  corico  to  carico  allows  a  sense  to  be  extracted.  '  A 
little  good,  acquired  without  too  much  trouble,  is  better  than 
wealth  (lit.  a  rich  man)  by  natural  right  (i.e.  unearned)  after 
he  passes  his  prime.'  For  ragione  see  note  to  No.  XIX,  St.  4, 
1.6. 

1.  1 1.     All.  via  lo  mio  ricchore  de'  e.  /.,  which  looks  like  a  gloss. 

I.  12.  i' :  All.  che;  perhaps  better  ;  with  comma  for  semicolon 
at  end  of  preceding  line. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.  agio  must  be  scanned  as  one  syllable ;  pro- 
nounced af.    So  voglio,  deggio,  gioia,  noia,  and  similar  words. 

II.  5,  6.  AW.per  cut  chanto  e  son  di  gioia  guar uto  [sic]  e  tengno 
me  sovr*  ogri  altro  amadore.  Of  the  next  three  lines  he  makes 
a  complete  hash. 

11.  7-9.  Gaspary  (S.P.S.,  p.  51)  quotes  a  similar  sentiment 
from  Pons  de  Capdueil  as  an  instance  of  the  Italians'  debt  to  the 
troubadours.  The  expression  is  no  doubt  very  like ;  but  this 
sentiment  is  surely  a  commonplace  of  all  amatory  poetry,  down 
to  '  Si  le  roi  m'avait  donne*  Paris  sa  grand'ville.' 

1.  12.  core,  riming  to  core  (1.  6)  in  practically  the  same  sense, 
is  contrary  to  the  general  rule  of  'equivocal '  rime.  See  V.E.  ii. 
13.  Possibly  we  should  read  here  amore.  The  two  words  are 
often  substituted  for  each  other  by  scribes. 

Stanza  5, 1.  1.  mio:  like  tuo  and  suo,  very  rarely  a  dis- 
syllable; so  rarely  that,  when  it  occurs,  one  may  suspect 
a  syllable  dropped  in  the  MS. 

1.  2.  abento  :  '  rest,' '  solace.'  This  pretty  word,  of  constant 
occurrence  in  the  early  poets,  seems  to  have  disappeared  entirely 
by  Dante's  time.  Diez  {Worterbuch)  calls  it  Sicilian.  Its 
derivation  is  unknown,  but  it  is  probably  connected  with 
ventus\  the  idea  being  of  a  cool,  breezy  place,  such  as 
a  Southerner  would  find  refreshing,  just  as  more  northern 
people  formed  abri,  '  shelter,'  from  apriacs,  '  warm.' 

1.  3.     grazie  :  three  syllables  ;  as  grazioso  in  Inf.  v.  88  is  four. 

1.  5.  al  chiaro  viso  :  V.R.V.  col,  which  makes  the  line  too 
long.  A.R.V.  escapes  by  adopting  c/u'ar,  a  doubtfully  possible 
form.  It  seems  simpler  to  read  al.  Au  cler  vis  is  a  stock 
phrase  in  early  French  poetry. 

L  2 


148  NOTES 

11.  9,  io.  These  lines,  as  given  by  the  Vat.  MS.,  are  obviously 
corrupt.  They  are  short,  and  the  rime  fallo—parlo,  though 
not  unexampled,  is  not  satisfactory.  Casini,  in  his  note  to  A.R.V., 

suggests : 

Dunqu'  eo  nom  posso  farlo, 
Nom  fallo  se  non  parlo. 

This  is  plausible ;  it  might  be  better  with  tii  'm  for  nom  in  the 
second  line.    I  would  however  suggest  converting  the  present  to 

the  future : 

Dunqu'  eo  nom  falleragio 
Se  no  'nde  parleragio. 

'nde  :  often  used,  especially  with  no  or  non,  for  the  later  nc. 


II. 

Again  we  find,  though  with  less  precision,  the  last  line  of  each 
stanza  echoed  in  the  first  of  the  next.  Rime-scheme :  ABAB, 
CDDC. 

Stanza  i,  1.  i.  disio:  Bella  Mano  io  vivo.  If  disio  be  re- 
tained, it  must  be  regarded  as  sb.,  governed  by  b. — speranza  : 
Nan.  and  other  editors  give  fidanza,  to  avoid  the  riming  of  the 
same  word  in  the  same  sense ;  but  there  seems  to  be  no  autho- 
rity for  this,  though  it  is  otherwise  better.  But  see  Stanza  3, 
11.  1,  2,  where  disio  and  speranza  are  again  coupled. 

1.  3.  MSS.  (Vat.  and  Laur.)  e  guardomi.  mi :  the  quasi- 
reflexive  form  is  common  enough  in  Dante,  as  elsewhere.  See 
for  examples  Inf.  ii.  9,  Purg.  xxiv.  52,  91,  Par.  xxii.  27,  36  (where 
//'  riguarde  has  much  the  same  sense  as  guardomi  here).  The 
pronouns  probably  represent  the  Latin  dative,  not  the  accusa- 
tive.    So  mi  teria  below,  Stanza  2,  1.  3. 

1.  6.  ed :  e  is  frequently  used  to  introduce  the  second  member 
of  a  sentence  involving  time  or  condition.  Wiese,  §§  117,  118, 
gives  many  instances.  Others  may  be  found  Inf.  xxv.  34,  50. 
In  V.N.,  §  24  we  have  'sedendo  io  pensoso  in  alcuna  parte,  ed 
io  mi  sentii,'  &c. — spanna:  images  drawn  from  navigation  are 
very  common. 

Stanza  2, 1.  3.  bello=&-«  lo\  A.R.V.  belo.  'Truly  I  should 
hold  it.'    Nan.  omits  lo. 


NOTES  149 

1.  7.  The  story  of  Pyramus  and  Thisbe  is  a  stock  ornament. 
Dante's  use  of  it  in  Purg.  xxvii.  37-39  and  xxxiii.  69  will  be 
remembered. 

Stanza  3, 1.  4.  ched :  the  d,  retained  to  avoid  hiatus,  is 
of  course  a  relic  of  Latin  quod.  Che  in  early  Italian  serves  as 
a  universal  relative,  much  like  'which'  in  Elizabethan  (and  to 
this  day  in  illiterate)  English.  Instances  are  frequent.  Here,  of 
course,  it  stands  for  quando. 

1.  5.  lena :  so  MSS.  Bella  Mano,  Val.,  Nan.,  A.R.V.,  alter 
to  cera,  'face,'  in  order  to  save  the  rime  with  spera  (the 
reading  of  the  MSS.  in  1.  8).  But  the  epithet  aulente, '  fragrant,' 
is  far  more  suitable  to  lena,  'breath.'  Mon.,  who  keeps 
lena,  thinks  the  author  may  have  been  satisfied  with  an 
assonance ;  but  it  seems  better  to  risk  spena  (for  spene)  in 
1.  8.  The  alteration  of  final  e  to  a  is  not  unexampled,  e.g. 
suora  for  suore  ;  while  assonance  is  seldom,  if  ever,  permitted. 

1.  6.  Gaspary  quotes  a  Provencal  parallel;  but  here  again 
the  notion  of  dying  for  love  might  surely  have  occurred  to  the 
writer  independently.  There  are  plenty  of  parallels,  without 
counting  universal  commonplaces. 

Stanza  4, 11.  2,  4.  dimando— mi  mando  :  this  is  the  reading 
of  the  MSS.,  and  the  sense  seems  fairly  clear.  '  I  now  demand 
my  own  heart  at  your  hands.' — The  notion  of  the  lady  having 
the  lover's  heart  in  her  keeping  is  of  course  very  common  ; 
sometimes,  as  in  V.N.,  §  3,  she  feeds  on  it— 'and  the  time  seems 
long  to  me  since  I  have  been  sending  love  into  your  heart.'  I  take 
mi  mafido  to  be  another  instance  of  the  quasi-reflexive.  It 
might  be  better  to  read  fino  che  for  che  fine  Fino  is  of  course 
the  regular  term  for  the  'courtly'  love;  and  a  scribe  could 
hardly  have  seen  the  two  words  in  one  line  without  coupling  them. 
Mon.  reads  mi  manda,  presumably  taking  amore  as  the  subject, 
assuming  the  author,  it  would  seem,  to  have  again  chanced 
his  rime.  A.R.V.  saves  him  by  reading  dimanda  ;  but  either  the 
object  or  the  subject  seems  lacking  according  as  we  make  cor 
subject  or  object.  Bella  Mano  has  in  line  4  vi  mando ;  which, 
if  any  emendation  is  needed,  seems  the  best. 

1.  5.  Vat.  MS.  piaciere:  this  is  clearly  wrong.  Even  so 
careless  a  rimer  as  Mon.  makes  Pietro  to  have  been  could  not 


r5o  NOTES 

have  allowed  -ere  and  -ento  to  pass.  Val.  emends  to  guarao 
tempo  vi  sia  in  piacimento ;  Nan.  follows  him.  The  omission 
of  che  is  quite  usual ;  but  it  seems  simpler  to  omit  mi. 

1.  6.  spanda :  we  might  have  expected  spanni,  after  the 
previous  use  of  the  word  ;  but  very  probably  the  author  thought 
them  the  same. 

J.  8.  insengnamento :  Prov.  ensenhamen,  '  instruction,' 
'  guidance ' ;  another  technical  troubadour's  term. 

Stanza  5, 1. 2.  a  'm  ballia,  •  has  in  keeping' ;  another  favourite 
word.  It  only  occurs  twice  in  D.C.,  of  St.  Peter  with  the  keys 
and  of  Cato  with  the  souls.  It  occurs  in  a  Canzone  attributed  to 
Dante  (xvi.  65).  From  bailo,  a  steward,  bailiff—  Lat.  bajulus,  '  a 
porter.'  Fr.  baffler,  Eng.  bail.  With  accent  thrown  back,  bdlio, 
bdlia,  it  means  guardian  or  nurse  (Conv.  iv.  5). 

1.  8.  volire,  Sicilian  pronunciation  of  volere.  The  spelling 
is  sometimes  changed  to  suit  the  rime,  sometimes  not. 

Dante  avoids  the  -ere,  -ire  rime,  though  he  sometimes  permits 
himself  that  of  -preso  with  -iso  and  the  other  Sicilianism  of  u 
for  o.     Mon.  val  ore.     (Why  ?) 


III. 

Nothing  is  known  of  the  personal  history  of  Giacomo  the 
Notary,  of  Lentino  in  Sicily.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  prolific 
poet,  much  (and  often  justly)  admired  throughout  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  much  quoted  by  those  who  at  a  later  time  took 
notice  of  the  early  writers.  We  know  that  he  was  a  con- 
temporary of  Piero  delle  Vigne  and  Jacopo  Mostacci  of  Pisa, 
from  the  sonnet-debate  between  the  three  on  the  nature  of 
love,  which  has  come  down  to  us.  (The  sonnets  in  question  : 
'  Sollecitando  un  poco  il  mio  savere,' '  Per6  c'  amore  non  si  pub 
vedere,'  '  Amor  t;  un  desio  che  ven  da  core,'  are  printed 
separately  by  Val.  and  in  their  proper  connexion  by  Monaci, 
Cres/om.,  p.  61.)  It  will  be  remembered  how,  in  the  famous 
passage  Purg.  xxiv.  5  5-57,  Bonagiunta  of  Lucca  is  made  to  name 
•  the  Notary ',  Guittone,  and  himself,  as  exponents  of  the  older, 
more  conventional  and  less  spontaneous,  style  of  verse.    Never- 


NOTES  151 

theless  there  is  a  vivacity  about  many  of  his  poems  which  is 
often  as  pleasing  as  the  greater  finish  of  the  stil  nuovo.  We 
may  take  it  that  he  was  one  of  the  cultivated  men  who 
frequented  the  Court  of  Frederick. 

This  poem  is  the  first  in  the  Vatican  MS.  collection.  Dante 
quotes  it,  though  without  naming  the  author,  in  V.E.  i.  12,  as  an 
example  of  polished  diction  and  'courtly '  vocabulary,  in  contrast 
to  the  usual  coarse  style  of  the  ordinary  'Apulian'. 

The  poem  consists  of  16-line  stanzas,  the  first  three  of  each 
four  being  hepta-,  the  fourth  hendecasyllabic.  Rime-scheme : 
ABACDBDC,  EEFfGHHIiG  (the  small  letters  indicating 
internal  rimes   at  the  sixth  and  seventh  syllables). 

Stanza  1,  1.  2.  priso  for  preso.  See  note  to  last  line  of 
No.  II.     Cf.  Purg.  i.  95,  iv.  126. 

1.  4.     non  m1  aita  :  '  my  wish  to  speak  is  no  help  to  me.' 

1.8.  teneselo :  Vat.  MS.  etenolosi;  Giunta  (following 
Palatine  MS.)  teneselo'  aita  ;  Nan.  teneselo  a  vita  (interpreting 
se  lo  tiene) ;  Mon.  tenelosi  in  v.  The  best  sense  seems  to  be 
'  Love  keeps  my  heart  alive  for  himself.  It  is  rather  tempting 
to  read  e'  lo  tenese,  '  might  he  keep  it ! ' 

1.  16.  vidi :  the  principal  MSS.  and  all  edd.  till  Carducci  in 
1876  have  vide  ;  but  vidi,  obviously  the  right  reading,  is  pre- 
served, says  Casini,  in  a  Memoriale,  or  note-book,  at  Bologna. 
Cf.  Par.  xix.  141  (according  to  the  best  reading).  Render  '  to  my 
own  hurt  I  saw.' 

Stanza  2, 11.  1-4.     Cf.  No.  I,  last  lines. 

1.  6.  '  beside  the  way  I  am  distressed.'  For  the  use  of  verso 
or  inverso  in  a  comparison,  cf.  Purg.  iii.  51,  Par.  xxiv.  95. — 
A  suggested  reading  is  in  ver,  '  in  truth ' ;  abolishing  the  stop 
at  end  of  this  line,  and  taking  cJC  to  stand  for  die,  '  since.'  But 
this  gives  no  better  sense. 

1.  7.  coralemente  :  'from  my  heart.'  An  imported  Provencal 
word;  not  in  D.C.,  but  used  once  by  Dante  in  a  sonnet, 
V.N.,  §  22. 

1.  8.  che  non  credo  mai  si  stingua:  note  the  omission  of 
che  after  credo— an  idiom  common  to  Italian  and  English  ;  and 
stingua,  subj.  because  of  the  negative  preceding  (Diez,  iii.  346). 

1.    11.      The   salamander   is  another  creature   which   plays 


152  NOTES 

a  great  part  in  the  fauna  of  the  troubadours  and  their  Italian 
imitators. 

I.  16.     '  Comes  to  the  ear,  and  brings  me  no  grain.' 

Stanza  3,  11.  5,  6.  improdito :  so  the  Vat.  MS.  The 
Laurentian  (Redi's)  has  om  prudito,  according  to  Monaci,  who 
says  that  the  lines  are  missing  in  the  Palatine.  Giunta  has  e1 
parmiuno  spirito  ;  which  Casini  (perhaps  on  the  strength  of  this) 
avers  to  be  the  reading  of  the  Pal.  The  Memoriale  has  im- 
pendito  ;  an  ugly  image,  which  pleases  some  modern  Italian 
critics.  (Is  impendito  ever  found  for  impeso  or  impenduto  ?) 
This  seems  to  be  a  case  of  lectio  difficilior  potior.  Improdito  is 
no  doubt  an  unusual  word  ;  but  may  it  not  mean  '  one  deprived  of 
prowess,'  '  in  a  fright,'  the  opposite  of  prode  ?— lo  cor  :  Giunta 
clC  al  cor. 

1.  7.    chito  :  i.  e.  cheto, '  quiet.' 

1.  10.  sturba :  cancella  (Nan.).  Perhaps  rather  '  makes 
a  mess  of  it '. 

1.  11.  pura  seems  to  be  equivalent  to  pure  (which  Val. 
reads) ;  Giunta  :  perb  che.    For  the  image,  cf.  Par.  xiii.  78. 

I.14.     propia  :  as  usually,  for  propria. 

I.  16.  se  s'  apprende:  so  V.R.V.  A.R.V.  and  Mon.  s'oprende 
— apparently  a  '  vox  nihili '.  Giunta,  following  Pal.  MS.,  has 
ove  J  apprende,  which  Nan.  interprets  '  whatever  he  catches 
hold  of.  But  should  not  the  verb  in  that  case  be  in  the  subj.  ? 
Apprendersi  in  a  physical  sense =appigliarsi  is,  to  say  the  least, 
very  rare,  unless  in  the  metaphorical  use  of  fire  catching,  plants 
taking  root,  and  the  like ;  but  it  is  hard  to  find  another  sense 
for  it  here. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.  If  che  be  retained,  there  seems  no  verb  for 
amore.  Giunta  gets  out  of  the  difficulty  by  reading  ni  I  suave. 
— ave, '  has  got  me.' 

I.4.    fortuna:  in  the  common  technical  sense  of 'storm'. 

II.  5,  6.    '  Gets  away  by  jettison  from  the  place  of  danger.' 

11.  11,  12.  afondara,  gravara :  archaic  form  of  cond.  It 
is  formed  directly  from  the  Lat.  pluperfect  (Diez,  ii.  133).  So 
in  English,  e.  g.  '  yea,  the  waters  had  drowned  us,  and  the 
streams  had  gone  over  our  soul.' 

11.  13-16.    •  As  the  storm  breaks  up  when  it  touches  the  earth, 


NOTES  153 

so  do  I  break  up,  and  seem  to  get  repose  when  I  sigh  and  weep.' 
— creio  for  creggio,  i.  e.  credo ;  formed  on  the  analogy  of  veggio, 
veto,  for  vedo.  In  the  latter  case  the  '  palatalized  '  form  is  due 
to  the  Lat.  video.     (Wiese,  p.  132.) 

Stanza  5,  1.  3.  inamorato :  *  between  two  #'s  dropped 
in  scansion. 

1.  7.  lasso:  Lat.  laxo,  'set  myself  loose.'  In  1.  5  it  is  the 
adj.  '  weary'. 

1.  II.     'all  in  its  fleshly  form.' 

I.16.     tal  lo  vederia.     Note  omission  of  relative. 


IV. 

This  pretty  little  poem  so  strongly  resembles  the  'Acmen 
Septimius'  of  Catullus  as  to  make  the  reader  wonder  if  the 
Notary  can  have  had  any  knowledge  of  that  famous  piece.  Not 
only  is  the  sentiment  very  similar,  but  the  form,  partly  narrative, 
partly  dialogue,  is  alike  in  both,  except  that,  whereas  in  the 
earlier  the  poet  narrates,  here  the  lover  tells  the  story  himself. 
Though  the  MS.  of  Catullus  was  not  rediscovered  (at  Verona) 
till  after  1300,  some  individual  poems  seem  to  have  been  known 
throughout  the  Middle  Ages ;  and  this  is  as  likely  as  any  to 
have  been  handed  down  in  Florilegia.  Some  of  the  more 
obvious  resemblances  are  quoted  ;  others  will  occur  to  the  reader. 
It  may  be  noted  that  the  lover  uses  tie,  not  voi. 

The  lines  are  heptasyllabic  throughout  :  rime  -  scheme 
ABABCCBDDB. 

Stanza  1,  1.  1.  coninciare  (or  coninzare)  is  more  usual  at 
this  time  than  com-. 

1.  3.  al  mio  parimento  :  '  in  my  opinion.'  Often  al  mio 
fiarere ;  used  by  Dante  once  or  twice  (e.  g.  V.N.,  §  3  ;  Par.  ii. 
84),  but  only  in  verse.     Petrarch  and  Boccaccio  also  have  it. 

1.  4.  Agri — Messina  :  Acre  and  Messina  may  be  taken  to 
denote  Palestine  and  Sicily  ;  to  an  Italian  the  most  eastern 
and  western  of  Frederick's  realms.  So  Catullus  uses  '  Syrias 
Britanniasque ' —  the  extremities  of  the  Empire.  All.,  not 
perceiving  this,  reads  da  qui. 


154  NOTES 

Stanza  2, 11,  1,  2.    Cf. : 

ut  multo  mihi  maior  acriorque 
ignis  mollibus  ardet  in  medullis. 

1.  6.  All.  laniata,  probably  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  making 
four  syllables  of  lanciata. 

1.  7.  Cf.  No.  V,  Stanza  2,  1.  3.  The  hidden  wound  is  a 
commonplace. 

I.  8.  It  might  be  better  to  read  membriti\  fiata  being 
properly  a  trisyllable. 

Stanza  3, 11.  2,  4,  7,  10.    As  Casini  notes,  -ento  and  -ente 
seem  to  be  accepted  as  sufficient  rimes. 
Stanza  4, 11.  1,  2.    Cf. 

Ni  te  perdite  amo  atque  amare  porro 
omnes  sum  assidue  paratus  annos. 

II.  3-6.  Gaspary  quotes  some  lines  of  Peyrols  as  suggesting 
these,  but  the  resemblance  is  not  very  close  ;  and  the  lusinga- 
tore  or  slanderer  is  a  commonplace  of  the  school. 

I.  3.  lusingatore,  Prov.  lauzenjador,  in  the  sense  of  both 
'slanderer '  and  '  flatterer '.  In  the  face  of  this  double  sense  the 
usual  derivation  from  Lat.  laus  will  hardly  hold,  and  it  seems 
better  to  regard  the  word,  which  runs  through  all  the  Romance 
languages,  as  of  Teutonic  origin,  and  akin  to  Eng.  leasing  (:  lying). 

II.  5,  6.  Another  reading  is  to  put  no  stop  at  the  end  of  1.  5, 
and  to  take  per='in  spite  of,'  a  sense  which  it  has  in  perche, 
Pnrg.  v.  58. 

1.  8.  •  may  he  never  see  a  spring.'  Casini  suggests  trans- 
posing the  last  two  couplets,  which  certainly  makes  the  sense 
run  more  smoothly. 


Heptasyllabic  throughout ;  rime-scheme  ABCABCDDC. 

Stanza  i,  11.  4-6.  The  meaning  seems  to  be  'as  a  painter 
who  is  thinking  about  some  scene  other  than  his  real  subject, 
and  paints  that  instead  of  it.' 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.    porte  for  porti. 

1.  4.    Vat.  anzi  nt  asembra  morte.     I  have  followed  Monaci 


NOTES  155 

in  preferring  the  Palatine.  The  Laurentian  has  ;  e  molto  mi  par 
forte,  forte =hard,  as  Purg.  xxix.  42.  This  on  the  whole  seems 
to  give  the  better  sense  ;  but  either  will  do. 

Stanza  3,  1.  2.  pintura :  of  course,  a  mental  picture  is 
meant. 

I.  4.     vio  =  veto  for  veggio. 

II.  7-9.  '  Passo  oscuro,'  says  Casini.  It  hardly  needs  ex- 
planation for  readers  who  know  their  Bible. 

Stanza  4, 1.  4.  invoglia :  '  wraps  up,'  involvat.  So  scioglia, 
(ex)solvat.  Not  to  be  confused  with  invogliare  from  voglia,  in 
Purg.  xiv.  1 10,  Par.  iii.  84. 

1.  5.  Laur.  tanto  prende  piit  loco.  So  All.  Probably  a  later 
alteration,  to  make  the  dependent  clause  more  symmetrical.  It 
might  seem  easier  to  do  this  by  reading  quando  in  the  previous 
line,  with  the  Pal.  MS. 

Stanza  5.  The  Vat.  MS.  transposes  this  and  Stanza  6 ;  spoil- 
ing the  sequence  of  ideas. 

1.  I.     siete  must  mean  '  are  there  ' ;  but  this  use  is  unusual. 

I.  9.  bella  :  Laur.  and  All.  forte  ;  obviously  another  attempt  to 
make  the  sense  run  more  easily  by  avoiding  the  change  of  person. 

Stanza  6,  1.  i.  Vat.  Perzo  (percib)  s'  io  v'  b  laudata.  With 
this  the  stop  at  end  of  1.  6  would  be  replaced  by  a  comma. 

II.  7,  8.  The  readings  vary  somewhat,  though  not  materially. 
Laur.  has  aggiatelo,  and  voi  dire,  which  may  stand  for  voglio 
dire  or  voi  direi.  Allacci,  Monaci,  and  Casini  take  the  former 
view  ;  but  the  reading  of  the  Vat.  is  good  enough.— singa,  i.e. 
signa  — segno.  This  playing  fast  and  loose  with  genders  is  not  very 
uncommon  ;  and  in  this  case  the  Lat.  plural  in  a  may  justify  the 
fern,  termination.  It  is  possible  that  there  may  be  a  reminiscence 
of  the  Prov.  senhal,  or  secret  name  under  which  the  troubadour 
celebrated  his  lady.  Here  the  'signal'  is  the  poet's  silence. 
Gaspary's  suggestion  of  Zb  ch?  io  no  dire1  a  lingua  brings  this 
out  better. — cio  (Vat.  zo)  must  be  taken  as  di  cib,  unless  for  do 
che  we  may  read  di  cib,  with  the  common  omission  of  the  relative. 

Stanza  7,  1.  1.  Laur.  has  Mia  cans.fna,  and  in  1.  3  maitina, 
forgetting  the  rime-scheme ;  and  in  1.  4  fina.  Pal.  omits  the 
stanza  altogether. 


156  NOTES 

VI. 

Rime-scheme :  AaBAaBbCCDD.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the 
same  rime-endings  are  kept  throughout.  With  this  poem  may 
be  compared  that  by  Prezivalle  Doria,  Amor  irC  ha  priso\ 
though  in  that  the  lover  is  more  submissive. 

Stanza  1, 1.  2.  A.R.V.  orgolglio  m'  b  rendente.  If  we  keep 
the  reading  of  the  MS.,  -oglio  must  be  pronounced  as  one 
syllable,  as  often  in  voglio.  Prov.  orguelh,  vnelh  had  no  doubt 
some  influence  in  producing  these  syncopations  (or  whatever  the 
correct  term  is).  With  either  reading  the  first  two  lines  are 
not  very  clear.  Allacci's  reading  Pot  benvolenza  d'orgog/t'o  ma 
\qy.  me]  rendete  makes  that  line  indeed  simple  enough,  but  has 
no  connexion  with  the  preceding  and  following.  Poi  must 
answer  to  prima.  The  sense  seems  to  be  :  '  Your  pride  in  face 
of  my  suffering,  which  restores  me  (sc.  to  myself),  wrought  in 
my  heart  at  first  grief,  then  goodwill,'  i.e.  a  feeling  of  easy  in- 
difference. The  sentiment  is  common  enough.  '  If  now  I  be 
disdained,  I  would  my  heart  had  never  known  you ' ;  '  If  she 
think  not  well  of  me,  what  care  I  how  fair  she  be  ?  '—and  so  on. 

I.  4.     And  take  delight  to  increase  a  wretch's  woe, 

Then  all  her  nature's  goodly  gifts  are  lost.    (Spenser.) 

II.  5-8.  The  lover  is  soon  in  bondage  again.  He  must  do  as 
all  the  world  does  and  go  in  fear  of  his  lady.  He  does  not  even 
wish  for  fair  looks,  if  she  has  not  love  in  her  heart.     (St.  2.) 

Stanza  3.  He  is  ready  to  obey  her ;  he  has  done  nothing  to 
repent  of.  Then  again  he  plucks  up  a  little  spirit.  Some  feeling 
of  pride  towards  a  disagreeable  person  is  but  human  ;  but  her 
pride  against  his  humility  is  immoderate. 

1.  3.    penitenza  is  a  kind  of  '  cognate  accusative '  to  pianger. 

L  7.  sorchietanza :  formed  from  O.Fr.  sorcuidance,  '  pre- 
sumption '  (the  place  of  which  was  early  taken  by  ouirecuidance). 
Or,  reading  sor  chietanza,  we  may  interpret  '  beyond  possibility 
of  any  settlement '. 

Stanza  4.  'Those  who  are  unjustly  harsh  come  to  repentance ; 
and  I  venture  to  hope  that  love  is  beginning  to  punish  her.  So 
she,  my  joy,  would  be  prettier  if  her  pride  is  humbled  ;  love  can 
do  it — it  is  his  wont.' 


NOTES  157 

1.  5.  giente  :  a  regular  word,  borrowed  from  Provencal,  to 
denote  all  that  is  graceful,  morally  and  physically.  Dante  uses 
it  frequently  in  lyrics,  but  not  in  B.C.  Afterwards  gentile  took 
its  place,  though  with  a  rather  stronger  meaning,  '  noble.' 

Stanza  5.  '  You  cannot  have  perceived  how  pride  has  ruined 
Florence,  and  how  Pisa  has  the  good  sense  to  shun  the  aims  of 
proud  folk.  Your  pride  is  as  stubborn  as  that  of  Milan  at  her 
carroccio! — Here  the  Ghibelline  poet  shows  himself;  and  in- 
cidentally enables  us  to  date  the  poem  with  some  accuracy.  In 
1232  Frederick  had  inflicted  a  heavy  fine  on  Florence  for  its 
contumacy,  particularly  in  carrying  on  hostilities  against  Siena. 
Pisa,  on  the  other  hand,  had  always  been  loyal,  and  accepted  his 
measures  for  keeping  the  peace.  Milan  had  suffered  a  severe 
chastisement  in  the  battle  of  Cortenuova  (Nov.  27,  1237).  On 
that  occasion  the  Milanese  had  made  a  last  stand  round  their 
carroccio ;  which  was,  however,  captured  and  sent  to  Rome. 
The  event  carried  dismay  among  the  party ;  Piero  delle  Vigne  and 
Frederick  himself  announced  it  in  letters  to  princes  and  peoples. 
It  must  have  been  fresh  in  memory  when  this  was  written. 

1.  4.  intenza :  a  word  of  various  meanings.  Here  it  pro- 
bably has  its  primary  sense  of  '  aim '  or  '  intention '. 

1.  6.  Melan  a  lo  carroccio :  cf.  '  Piramo  alia  gelsa,'  Purg. 
xxxiii.  69. 

1.8.    sgombra:  intr., 'disencumbers  himself.' 

VII. 

Jacopo  Mostacci  is  just  not  only  a  name.  He  is  believed  to  have 
been  a  Pisan.  As  has  been  mentioned,  he  took  part  with  Piero 
delle  Vigne  and  the  Notary  in  a  sonnet-debate  on  the  nature  of 
love ;  so  that  he  must  have  been  their  contemporary,  though 
probably  their  junior.  Monaci  quotes  from  a  Spanish  chronicle 
a  mention  of  his  having  been  sent  to  Spain  by  Manfred  in  July 
1260  as  one  of  a  commission  to  negotiate  a  marriage,  doubtless 
that  of  Manfred's  daughter  Constance  with  Peter,  son  of  James, 
King  of  Arragon.  See  Purg.  iii.  115.  Obviously,  therefore, 
he  was  a  person  of  some  consideration.  The  present  piece  is, 
as  to  its  first  three  stanzas,  an  almost  literal  rendering  -  of 


158  NOTES 

a  Provencal  poem,  the  authorship  of  which  is  assigned  to 
various  troubadours,  including  Cadenet  and  Peire  Ramon  : 

Lunga  sazon  ai  estat  vas  amor 

Humils  e  francs,  et  ai  fait  son  coman  — . 

Gaspary  (S.P.S.,  chap.  2  ad  init.)  gives  the  Italian  poem  in  full, 
with  variants  and  notes,  also  the  three  stanzas  of  the  Provencal. 
English  readers  will  be  struck  with  the  resemblance  in  tone, 
and  often  in  expression,  to  Sir  Robert  Ayton's  '  I  loved  thee 
once,  I'll  love  no  more ' ;  while  the  opening  lines  recall  the  well- 
known  song  '  Since  first  I  saw  your  face,  I  resolved  to  honour  and 
renown  ye' — both  of  about  1600,  at  which  date  the  poem,  so  far 
as  is  known,  had  not  been  printed.  Nor,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
had  it  been  imitated  by  any  of  the  Cinquecentisti,  whose  influence 
upon  English  poetry  towards  the  end  of  the  century  was  so  well 
marked. 

The  Cruscan  Dictionary  (s.  v.  adonare)  assigns  the  poem  to 
Guittone. 

The  rime-scheme  is  simple  :  ABCABCDEDE.  Lines  3  and 
6  are  heptasyllabic. 

Stanza  i,  1.  4.  adesso  =  sempre,  says  Gaspary  ;  but  it  is 
probably  more  nearly  equivalent  to  the  older  English  use  of 
'  presently '. 

1.  6.    nonde,  Lat.  non  inde  :  now  non  ne. 

Stanza  2, 11.  1-6. 

'  Nothing  could  have  my  love  o'erthrown, 
If  thou  hadst  still  continued  mine  ; 
Yea,  if  thou  hadst  still  remained  thy  own 
I  might  perchance  have  yet  been  thine.'    (Ayton.) 

1.  2.  This  line,  as  given  in  the  MS.,  is  a  syllable  short.  The 
insertion  of  si  seems  obvious. — adonata.  Adonare  is  from 
Lat.  donare,  but  its  sense  appears  to  have  been  modified  by 
dotnare.  It  usually  has  the  meaning  of  '  to  subdue ',  as  in 
Inf.  vi.  34.  Reflexively  it  means  '  to  surrender ',  as  Purg.  xi. 
19.  It  was  confused  with  adunare  by  the  earlier  makers  of 
vocabularies,  such  as  Francesco  d'Alunno,  and,  to  some  extent, 
the  Cruscans.    In  Provencal  it  seems  to  mean  adunare  solely, 


NOTES  159 

so  that,  as  Gaspary  points  out,  Mostacci  probably  misunderstood 
his  original,  '  Mas  tan  la  vei  adonar  ab  enjan,'  i.  e. '  united  with 
deceit '. 

11  4,  5.  gioia  in  the  earlier  poets  usually  scans  as  one 
syllable  in  the  interior  of  a  line,  unless  a  word  beginning  with 
two  consonants  follows.  Towards  the  end  of  the  century  it  begins 
to  be  dissyllabic. 

1.  9.  intendanza,  '  object  to  aim  at,'  hence  (as  usually) 
1  object  of  love  '. 

Stanza  3, 11.  1-6.  '  My  leaving  her  will  not  hurt  her ;  but ' 
— with  a  touch  of  conscious  pride  in  his  poetic  powers — 'I  could 
make  her  feel  that  she  has  lost  something.' 

I.  1.  The  use  of  ella  in  the  oblique  case  may  be  noted.  It  goes 
down  to  Petrarch  and  Boccaccio.  —  parto  is  obviously  not 
a  precise  rime  to  tanto  in  1.  4 ;  but  it  gives  at  least  an 
assonance,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  Casini's  pro- 
posed reading,  after  the  Pal.  MS. :  se  d'e.  parto  e  in  a.  intendo. 
But  for  the  sim  part  de  lieis  of  the  original,  it  would  be  easy  to 
suggest  canto,  taking  ella  to  refer  to  the  new  love. 

II.  7-10.  '  But  I  will  not,  lest  I  should  be  taken  for  an  evil- 
speaker  ;  much  better  to  leave  a  bad  master  on  good  terms.' 
The  little  touch  in  1.  8  seems  to  be  original ;  at  any  rate,  it  is 
not  in  the  Provencal. 

Stanza  4  is  not  in  the  Provencal.  It  has,  perhaps  for  this 
reason,  got  into  some  confusion  in  the  MSS. 

I.  6.  falliero.  So  Mon.  The  Vat.  has  fallire,  which  A.R.V. 
follows,  reading  in  I.  3  pensiere  for  the  MS.  pensero  :  whereby 
the  rime  is  not  saved.  Falliero  is  a  perfectly  possible  form  for 
fallatore,  as  parliero  for  parlatore.  The  form  in  -iero  is  doubt- 
less due  to  French  influence.  It  represents  Lat.  -arius,  not  -ator. 
The  meaning  is  '  which  has  been  wasted  for  me '.  {Fallare, '  to 
fail,'  'be  lacking,'  must  be  distinguished  (rom/allire,  'to  deceive' ; 
though  the  two  run  into  each  other.) 

II.  7-10.  Vat.  has:  ' manonomispero  Catale  sengnora  son 
servato  chebuono  guiderdone  averagio  ca  perzo  chenobria '  &c. 
With  a  little  reconstruction  a  rhythm  and  a  sense  can  be  got  at, 
but  I  have  followed  the  Palatine,  as  given  by  Monaci :  which 
seems  more  to  the  point. 


160  NOTES 

1.  io.  stagione.  The  idea  of  the  reward  coming  in  due 
season  is  a  very  favourite  one. 

VIII. 

The  opening  of  this  little  poem  is  very  graceful.  The  arrange- 
ment of  long  and  short  lines  is  particularly  agreeable,  and 
marks  a  distinct  advance  in  rhythmical  resource.  Rime-scheme : 
ABbCABbCDDEEFF. 

Stanza  i.  Images  from  the  winter  silence  and  spring  renewal 
of  the  birds'  song  are  very  frequent.  Italians,  one  may  con- 
jecture, had  not  yet  begun  to  eat  small  birds. 

1.  6.  svernare,  '  to  come  out  of  winter,'  Lat.  dishibemarc. 
Hence  of  the  spring  song  of  birds,  in  which  sense  it  seems  to  be 
used  in  Par.  xxviii.  118.  In  xxvii.  142  it  is  used  reflexively,  in 
the  literal  sense. 

1.  12.    Doubtless  a  reminiscence  of  Eccles.  iii. 

Stanza  2,  1.  7.  avenente  :  a  stock  epithet  for  a  lady, — 
'  kind  ',  '  affable  '.  From  Prov.  avinen.  The  idea  is  of  one  who 
comes  forward  to  meet  a  wish.  Avert  ant  is  still  used  in  a  very 
similar  sense  in  French. 

1.  11.  ognunque:  omne  umquam.  The  Crusca  does  not 
recognize  it. 

Stanza  3,  11.  2,  3,  5,  6.  Note  the  equivalence,  for  riming 
purposes,  of  -inga  and  -egna.  The  facility  of  the  passage  from 
gn  or  gl  to  ngand  Ig  in  Italian  is  illustrated  by  such  words  as 
vengo,  tolgOy  beside  vegno,  toglio.  There  is  no  need  to  change 
the  spelling. 

1.  9.  lico  is  a  word  not  found  elsewhere,  and  impossible  to 
interpret.  Some  would  read  rico ;  but  the  rime  of  a  word  to 
itself  in  precisely  the  same  sense  is  inadmissible.  The  only 
suggestion  that  I  can  make  is  that  silico  is  one  word  (as  the  MS. 
writes  it)  and  intended  to  represent  the  German  selig.  Mostacci 
must  have  heard  plenty  of  German  in  the  Imperial  Court ;  and 
this  word  (which  he  would  have  heard  in  the  form  salic)  may  have 
struck  his  fancy,  and  he  may  have  tried  to  naturalize  it.  The 
meaning  would  be  :  '  If  I  do  not  attain  to  full  bliss,  I  am  surely 
rich.' 


NOTES  161 

11.  7-12.  Note  the  echo  of  the  Psalms  throughout  this  stanza; 
especially  of  the  opening  verses  of  Pss.  xviii  and  xxxi  (Vulg., 
xvii  and  xxx). 

Stanza  4.  The  dolce  laccio  of  1.  2  looks  like  a  reminiscence 
by  contrast  of  the  laqueus  of  Ps.  xxxi.  4  ;  while  the  other  lines 
will  recall  other  phrases — curiously  enough,  so  far  as  the  actual 
terms  go,  more  of  our  own  version  than  of  the  Vulgate.  But  the 
Vulgate  was  by  no  means  the  only  rendering  of  the  Psalms  with 
which  a  man  of  the  thirteenth  century  might  be  acquainted. 

IX. 

This  quaint  little  piece  is  assigned  by  the  Vat.  MS.,  which 
alone  has  preserved  it,  to  Messer  lo  re  Giovanni.  The  only 
King  John  of  the  time  would  be  John,  Count  of  Brienne,  titular 
King  of  Jerusalem,  through  his  wife  Mary  of  Montferrat,  leader 
of  the  fifth  Crusade,  and,  at  the  end  of  his  life,  Latin  Emperor 
of  the  East.  He  was  also  Frederick's  second  father-in-law ; 
the  Emperor  having  in  1225  married  his  daughter  Yolande. 
A  good  deal  of  his  time  was  spent  in  Italy,  where  he  was 
a  popular  figure,  for  his  gifts  of  mind  and  body.  'A  man  of 
energy,  and  in  form  fair  before  the  sons  of  men,'  a  chronicler 
quoted  by  Monaci  calls  him  ;  and  Salimbene  says  that  he  was 
deemed  a  second  Charlemagne,  and  that  when  he  hit  about  with 
his  iron  mace  the  Saracens  fled  from  the  face  of  him  as  if  they 
saw  the  Devil.  As  he  was  born  about  11 60,  and  died  not  later 
than  1237,  this  poem,  if  correctly  ascribed  to  him,  must  be  one 
of  the  earliest  specimens  of  Italian  verse.  Some  modern  critics, 
with  the  usual  '  credulous  incredulity ',  as  it  has  been  aptly 
termed,  characteristic  of  modern  Italians  when  dealing  with  their 
early  literature,  have  attempted  to  throw  doubt  on  the  correct- 
ness of  the  ascription  in  the  MS.  The  only  tangible  argument 
that  I  have  seen  is  to  the  effect  that  John  would  not  have  had 
time  to  learn  Italian.  No  doubt,  when  he  had  occasion  to  use 
strong  language  to  his  son-in-law  he  preferred  his  native 
French  ;  but  it  would  be  hard  if  he  did  not  acquire  Italian  enough 
to  write  light  verses  in  that  tongue.  Others,  puzzled  perhaps 
by  the  changes  of  rhythm,  have  thought  the  poem  to  be  a  patch- 

BUTLER  M 


1 62  NOTES 

work  of  fragments  from  other  pieces.  But  this  change  of 
rhythm  was  a  feature  of  the  class  known  as  discordi,  Prov.  des- 
cortz.  The  lines  are  clearly  intended  to  be  sung  to  a  dance, 
and  the  changes  correspond  obviously  to  changes  of  step. 

The  varying  length  of  the  stanzas  (if  they  may  so  be  called) 
is  also  characteristic  of  the  discordo.  In  the  present  case  the 
first  contains  23  lines,  the  second  24,  the  third  22,  the  fourth 
13,  the  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh,  6  each.  The  rime-schemes  vary 
no  less.  That  of  St.  1  is  AABCCBDDB,  EBEB  and  so  on 
to  the  end ;  of  St.  2,  A2B2  for  six  lines,  A2A2A,Ba  for  eight 
lines,  A2A2B2  for  six  lines,  AjAjA^  for  four  lines ;  of  St.  3, 
ASB3  throughout ;  of  St.  4,  A4  for  seven  lines,  B4C4  (identical 
with  B2A2)  for  six ;  of  St.  5,  A5A6B5,  twice ;  of  St.  6,  A6B6 
thrice  ;  of  St.  7,  A7A7B7C7C7B7.  The  great  number  of  a  rimes, 
are,  ate,  ansa,  will  be  noticed.  The  metre  of  Sts.  1  and  2  is 
a  lilting  amphibrachic,  the  type  being  inver  la  pascore,  e  far 
conoscanza  ;  but  an  extra  syllable  often  comes  at  the  beginning. 
From  St.  1,  1.  12,  to  the  end,  the  even  lines  have  three  beats  ; 
as  :  Colore  non  vidi  si  ge*nte.  In  St.  3  the  measure  changes  to 
a  tripping  trochaic  line  of  seven  syllables.  In  St.  4  the  first 
eight  lines  as  given  in  the  MS.  appear  to  continue  this ;  but 
I  suspect  that  there  should  be  a  return  to  the  measure  of  1  and 
2,  to  which  the  last  5  lines  clearly  belong.  By  the  slight 
omissions  of  letters  which  I  have  indicated  the  whole  stanza 
becomes  homogeneous.  St.  5  has  —  «-»  —  ^  —  v^  —  w  (bis)  | 
\->  —  <-/  —  o,  twice  over ;  St.  6  —  \j  —  «~>  —  ^>  —  <->  |  —  \-/  —  «->| 
thrice  ;  St.  7  is  like  St  5,  without  the  initial  syllable  to  11.  3  and 
6.  In  1.  3  sanza  must  probably  be  scanned  as  one  syllable, 
a  licence  natural  enough  in  a  Frenchman. 

Stanza  i,  1.  7.  chiarita  spera  :  •  beam  of  brightness ' ;  a 
favourite  form  of  address  to  the  lady,  used  by  the  Notary  and 
others.  This  spera  is  probably  a  distinct  word  from  spera,  '  a 
sphere ',  and  Teutonic  in  origin.  Germ,  speer,  '  spear '  (cf.  strale 
from  strahl).  Dante  uses  it  once  in  D.C. — Purg.  xvii.  5  (where 
modern  translators  mostly  render  by  'disk',  'orb',  'globe'). 
The  older  commentators  knew  it,  and  explain  by  raggio  or 
some  similar  word,  as  does  Torraca  among  the  moderns.  It 
also  occurs  (probably)  in  the  Canzone  '  Io  son  venuto,'  1.  16. 


NOTES  163 

Petrarch  appears  to  have  it  once  in  the  sonnet  'In  mezzo  di 
due  amanti.' 

I.9.  genzore  :  comparative  of  gente ;  Prov.  gensor. 

1.  14.  Read  ancora  la  for, — metri  gratia. 

I.17.  pascore :  'spring';  another  Provencalism.  (B.  del 
Born :  El  coindes  pascors  floritz  Mi  donz  son  ardit  no  creis.) 
From  Pascha,  Easter ;  perhaps  not  without  a  suggestion  from 
pascua,  '  meadows.' 

1.  18.  Read  che  ama\  che  unelided,  as  frequently. 

Stanza  2, 1.  6.  noranza  :  onoranza. 

1.  15.  ridare  :  'dance  in  a  ring,'  Inf.  vii.  24.     Also  riddare. 

1.  22.  Either  si  si,  as  above ;  or  the  pleonastic  si  may  be 
dropped. 

Stanza  3, 1.  5.    in  cielato  :  '  in  secret' ;  of  frequent  use. 

1.  6.  facea  :  fare  used  just  like  our  '  do  ',  to  save  repeating 
a  verb.  The  story  of  Tristan  and  Iseult  is  one  of  the  stock 
commonplaces  in  the  early  poems. 

It  is  this  abrupt  introduction  of  a  bit  of  narration  into  the 
dance-song  which  has  chiefly  exercised  the  modern  critics  ;  but 
how  do  they  know  that  it  was  not  part  of  the  game  ?  After  all, 
there  are  transitions  no  less  abrupt  in  Pindar  or  Horace. 

1.  8.  zia :  she  was  his  aunt  as  being  the  wife  of  Mark,  his 
uncle. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.    contrate:  see  note  to  No.  XLIX,  St.  4, 1.  6. 

Stanza  6, 1.  1.  meglio  is  a  monosyllable,  as  often  in  Dante, 
where  it  is  usually  written  m£,  and  in  later  poetry. 

Stanza  7,  1.  3.  temere:  MS.  tinore,  which  gives  neither 
sense  nor  rime. 


X. 

Though  no  definite  evidence  on  the  point  appears  to  exist, 
we  are  not  likely  to  be  wrong  in  identifying  this  Rinaldo  of 
Aquino  with  the  nobleman  of  that  name  who  in  1 241,  with 
the  acquiescence  of  Peter  de  Vineis,  succeeded  in  kidnapping 
his  young  brother  Thomas  from  the  General  of  the  Dominicans 
and  locking  him  up  in  one  of  the  family  castles  with  a  view  to 
dissuading  him  from  joining  that  Order.    After  a  year  the  lad 

M  2 


1 64  NOTES 

escaped;  and  Scholastic  Philosophy  was  not  deprived  of  its 
greatest  light.  The  Lords  of  Aquino  were  of  German  stock, 
and  were  high  in  the  favour  of  Frederick  II.  In  1257  Rinaldo 
appears  to  have  acted  as  Manfred's  viceroy  for  Otranto  and 
Bari. 

The  first  line  of  this  poem  is  quoted  by  Dante  twice :  in  V.  E. 
i.  12,  as  an  example  of  the  use  of  verba  curialiora  by  an 
Apulian ;  and  ii.  5  as  an  instance  of  the  correct  opening  of  a 
canzone  with  a  hendecasyllabic  line. 

The  stanza  is  of  14  lines,  2,  5,  7,  9, 13  being  heptasyllabic, 
and  11  pentasyllable.  Rime  scheme:  ABCABCDEFGGFED. 
The  effect  of  this  somewhat  elaborate  structure  is  exceedingly 
melodious.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  first  line  of  each  stanza 
echoes  the  last  of  the  preceding. 

Stanza  i,  1.  3.  aparigliare:  'match.'  From  pariglio  or 
more  usually  pareglio.  Lat.  pariculus,  dim.  of  par.  Used  by 
Dante,  Par.  xxvi.  107,  108.  Fr.  pared,  Prov.  parelh,  whence  it 
seems  to  have  come  directly. 

11.  s,  6.  The  terms  of  feudal  lordship  are  constantly  used  to 
illustrate  the  relations  of  the  lover  to  his  lady. 

1.  14.   mante:  'many.'    See  note  to  No.  XXIX,  St.  2, 1.  2. 

Stanza  2, 1.  6.  Note  that  the  a  oigioia  is  not  silent  before 
st;  doubtless  a  relic  of  Latin  metrical  usage.  Instances  of 
conformity  with  this  rule  will  be  found  in  Dante,  though  for 
the  most  part  he  neglects  it ;  allowing,  for  instance,  mia  to  stand 
as  a  monosyllable  before  speransa. 

1.  7.  coraggio  means  here  no  more  than  core— its  original 
sense. 

1.  8.    ver  :  '  compared  with,'  •  beside '. 

1.  10.  s'intenza :  intenzare  is  a  somewhat  perplexing  word. 
It  is  not  easy  to  find  a  general  notion  which  will  satisfy  the  various 
significations  in  which  it  appears  to  be  used.  Here  it  seems  to 
mean  '  set  up  as  a  rival '  or '  match  itself,  and  it  has  a  very  similar 
sense  in  No.  XXXIII,  St.  3, 1. 10 :  '  O  Dio,  chi  lo  m'  interna.'  In 
No.  XXVIII,  St.  2, 1.  3,  the  meaning  seems  to  be '  contends  with 
me '  or  perhaps  '  raises  a  contest  in  me '.  It  occurs  also  in 
Peter  de  Vineis'  Poi  tanta  conoscienza  (A.R.V.,  xxxvii.  1.  41), 
'  d'amore,  che  la  'ntenza ',  where  it  must  mean  ■  puts  her  on  her 


NOTES  165 

mettle',  or  something  of  that  sort.  Dante  does  not  use  the 
verb,  but  has  the  subst.  interna  in  the  passage  Par.  xxiv. 
75-8,  where  it  seems  to  denote  'purport1,  almost  'quality'. 
Voc.  Cruse,  which  equally  does  not  recognize  the  verb,  renders 
interna  by  '  aim  ',  '  intention  ',  as  in  No.  VI,  St.  5, 1.  4.  In  this 
way  it  came  to  mean  '  object  of  love ' ;  but  no  such  idea  seems 
to  be  conveyed  by  the  verb.  Ducange  indicates  a  Low  Latin 
intentiare  :  '  Intentiatttm  pro  intentionatum,  seu  controversiae 
datum  ',  intentionare  being  =  intendere  in  the  sense  of  litigare. 
The  Glossaire  Occitanien  renders  entensa  (vb.)  by  aspire. 
The  word,  it  may  be  noted,  seems  always  to  occur  in  rime. 

I.  14.  al  mio  paragio:  'to  my  rank'.  Prov. paratge  ;  ety- 
mologically  equivalent  to  our  '  peerage  '. 

Stanza  3,  1.  3.    avanzare :  so  No.  VIII,  St.  1, 1.  4. 

II.  7-14.  One  lady  ought  not  to  have  more  than  one  re- 
cognized 'serzndore'  (husbands,  of  course,  did  not  count),  and 
to  drive  away  one  who  has  long  been  established  may  not  be  a 
crime,  but  implies  bad  '  lordship  '. 

Stanza  4, 1.  4.  mi  laudo  :  so  Inf.  ii.  74,  '  di  te  mi  loderfc  \ 
This  is  the  usual  construction,  and  suggests  that  we  ought  to 
read  di  for  e,  putting  a  semicolon  after  biasmare. 

1.  n.  no:  non  b.  Vat.  MS.  tnaocredenza ;  but  the  nega- 
tive seems  to  be  wanted. 

1.  13.  Casini's  suggestion  to  omit  d'amor  as  a  gloss,  and 
substitute  non,  is  obviously  correct. 

XL 

This  little  poem,  first  printed  by  Trucchi,  and  lacking  from 
few  selections  since,  for  sheer  pathos  and  simplicity  cannot  be 
matched,  one  might  say,  in  the  whole  range  of  Italian  verse, 
and  marks  its  author  as  a  true  poet.  It  purports  to  be  the 
lament  of  a  girl  whose  lover  has  gone  on  a  Crusade.  Whether 
it  be  the  Crusade  of  1228,  or  that  of  1240,  or  indeed  any  par- 
ticular Crusade  at  all,  seems  a  matter  of  extreme  unimportance. 
It  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  canzone,  but  just  a  lyric  of  four- 
line  stanzas,  seven  syllables  to  a  line,  with  alternate  rimes. 
Perhaps  because  all  the  even  lines  of  the  first  two  rime  together, 
the  Vat.  MS.,   which  alone  has  preserved  it,   groups  all  the 


1 66  NOTES 

stanzas  in  pairs,  and  the  edd.  have  followed  the  arrangement. 
The  text  is  corrupt,  and  there  has  evidently  been  some  disloca- 
tion. Thus  the  first  four  lines  of  St.  7  appear  to  be  a  variant 
of  the  four  opening  lines  ;  the  last  four  should  clearly  be  the 
last  four  of  St.  3,  leading  up  to  the  apostrophe  to  the  Cross 
with  which  St.  4  opens.  The  last  four  lines  of  St.  3,  with  the 
false  concord  between  il  mio  amore  and  ft  sia  racomandata 
and  their  missing  rime,  have  slipped  in  from  St.  5  ;  where,  by 
reading  alto  irnperadore  for  alta  fiotestate  and  (ri)dotfato,  rime 
can  be  vindicated  without  offence  to  syntax. 

The  piece  has  been  translated  into  English  by  the  late 
Mr.  Warburton  Pike. 

Stanza  i,  1.  3.  navi  must  probably  be  pronounced  as  one 
syllable — naiti  or  na'i. 

1.  4.  collare,  'to  hoist '.  It  is  also  used  of  hoisting  a  man  by 
the  arms  for  torture,  '  giving  him  the  rope  '  as  it  was  called.  Diez 
takes  this  to  be  the  primary  meaning,  and  connects  the  word  with 
German  qualen.  Looking  to  the  frequency  with  which  this  form 
of  discipline  was  applied  in  Italy — at  any  rate  at  a  much  later 
date—this  does  not  seem  impossible ;  though  one  would  have 
expected  the  transference  of  meaning  to  have  been  the  other 
way. 

Stanza  2, 1.  3.  If  we  are  to  retain  ed,  we  must  suppose  that 
the  somewhat  similar  sounds  in  rimango  and  ingannato  are 
fused  together — rimang'  'ngannata.  Other  instances  will  be 
found  where  doubtful  prosody  may  be  mended  by  a  similar 
assumption  ;  e.g.  in  St.  7,  1.  2  of  the  present  poem,  where  the 
an  of  possano  seems  to  coalesce  with  that  of  andare. 

Stanza  3,  1.  1.  A  syllable  seems  to  be  lacking;  but  the 
metre  throughout  is  rather  irregular,  and  there  is  nothing 
unusual  in  dropping  an  unstressed  syllable  at  the  beginning  of 
a  line,  provided  that  the  right  number  of  beats  is  preserved. 
The  same  applies  to  St.  6,  1.  8.  In  fact,  the  irregularity  is 
pleasing. 

Stanza  4, 11.  1,  3,  5.  croce  must  be  sounded  a.s  croc\  Some 
editors  read  crux,  which  perhaps  has  some  analogy  with  the 
Santus  of  the  last  stanza,  but  has  no  warrant  from  the  MS. 

Stanza  5, 11.  1,  2.    Difficulties  have  been  made  by  minute 


NOTES  167 

historical  critics  over  this  statement,  seeing  that  the  '  world' — 
i.  e.  Christendom — had  not  much  peace  in  Frederick's  reign ; 
but  it  may  be  taken  to  express  at  least  the  Ghibelline  conception 
of  the  Empire  and  its  functions,  afterwards  grandly  developed 
by  Dante  in  De  Monarchia. 

Stanza  6.  The  syntax  of  the  first  five  lines  is  irregular, 
1.  2  having  no  regular  construction,  and  one  is  at  first  inclined 
to  attempt  emendation.  But  the  dislocation  expresses  very 
naturally  the  confused  thought  and  inconsequent  speech  of  the 
love-lorn  girl. 

1.  7.  in  cielata  :  cielato  is  more  usual,  and  Trucchi  so  reads, 
followed  by  most  recent  editors.  D'Ancona  and  Bacci,  in  their 
Manitale  della  Lett.  ItaL,  retain  the  MS.  form.  There  is  a  touch 
of  irony  in  the  use  of  the  phrase,  which  is  more  often  applied  to 
the  meetings  of  lovers. 

1.  8.  '  For  the  sake  of  my  true  love.'  Vita  is  common  in  this 
sense,  as  are  its  equivalents  in  other  languages. 

Stanza  7.  As  has  been  said  above,  this  ought  probably  to 
be  deleted  here,  the  second  half  going  to  St.  3.  Santo  must  be 
omitted  in  1.  6. 

Stanza  8,  1.  1.  There  is  some  little  controversy  whether 
Dolcietto  should  have  a  large  or  a  small  d,  a  question  not  of 
vital  importance.  The  person  appealed  to  is  clearly  a  pro- 
fessional maker  of  verses  ;  though  one  can  hardly  suppose  that 
anything  he  could  write  would  have  gone  straighter  to  the 
gallant's  heart  than  the  maiden's  own  artless  lament. — This  line 
seems  to  have  a  syllable  too  many ;  yet  none  can  be  spared. 
May  we  suppose  that  prego  was  colloquially  sounded  preg'  ? 

1.  3.  sonetto :  not  necessarily  in  the  technical  sense.  The 
'sonnet'  proper  would  hardly  at  this  time  have  been  regarded 
as  a  vehicle  of  passion. 

1.  6.  Carducci  and  others,  not  seeing  the  metrical  beauty 
imparted  by  this  short  line — punctuated,  one  may  fancy,  by 
sobs — have  inserted  la  before  notte  and  dia. 

XII. 

Another  little  study  on  the  favourite  theme  :  that  while  a  good 
lover  will  not  complain  of  his   sufferings,  will   even   find  joy 


1 68  NOTES 

in  them,  the  lady  ought  not  to  take  pleasure  in  inflicting  and 
witnessing  them.  The  stanzas  are  in  seven  lines,  I,  2,  3,  4,  7 
being  hendecasyllabic,  5  of  nine  syllables,  with  an  internal  rime 
at  the  second  syllable,  6  of  seven.    Rime-scheme  ABABbCCB. 

Stanza  1, 1.  2.    contolami :  la  mi  conto. 

1.  3.  The  loves  of  Paris  and  Helen,  learned  from  the  ficti- 
tious but  popular  Dictys  Cretensis,  are  as  favourite  an  illustration 
as  those  of  Tristan  and  Yseult ;  and  are  often,  as  here,  intro- 
duced with  no  special  applicability. 

1.  4.    ongnura  :  omnem  horam. 

1.  7.  By  inadvertence  wrongly  arranged.  Read  ella  piu  (e) 
dura. 

Stanza  2,  1.  3.  Egli  has  been  inserted  to  save  the  metre. 
Che  unelided,  often  written  ched  (with  retention  of  Lat.  d  in 
quod),  is  common  enough,  and  found  even  in  Dante. 

1.  4  should  probably  read  :  que'  che  quantunque  vede  (perhaps 
vene)  un  pd  p.  b. 

1.  7.  MS.  infrlama.  The  emendation  is  obvious.  Perhaps 
mal  ch*  in  altruifla?na  would  be  even  better.  Trucchi,  regard- 
less of  rime,  has  d  altrui  procura  ;  A.R.V.  in  far  fama,  which 
the  editors  see  to  be  impossible,  but  leave  alone. 

Stanza  3,1.  1.  scanoscienza :  almost  our  colloquial  'bad 
form '.  Canoscienza  would  appear  to  be  the  quality  by  which 
the  right  thing  to  say  or  do  is  known.  Gloss.  Occit.  renders 
conoissensa  by  habiletd. 

1.  2.     chi  rimproccia  :  render  'when  anyone  reproaches  '. 

Stanza  5, 1.  1.  punto :  '  moment.'    So  Par.  xxix.  4. 

XIII. 
Of  no  very  special  merit,  except  that  of  reciting  the  common- 
places in  smoothly  flowing  language  and  rhythm  and  a  touch  of 
banter.  The  stanzas  are  of  twelve  lines,  the  first  of  each  again 
echoing  the  last  of  its  predecessor.  The  lines  are  octosyllabic, 
therefore  trochaic  ;  once  or  twice,  as  in  St.  1, 1.  7,  and  St.  3, 1. 5, 
a  superfluous  syllable  seems  to  be  introduced  at  the  beginning, 
like  the  anacrusis  in  Greek  choric  lines.  Rime-scheme  : 
ABCABCDDEFFE.    The  poem  was  first  printed  by  Valeriani; 


NOTES  169 

afterwards,  with  comments,  by  Grion,  in  the  Propugnatore  of 
Bologna,  vol.  iv. 

Stanza  i,  1.  2.  levi :  this  use  of  the  subjunctive  in  a  com- 
parison with  some  general  image  is  almost  peculiar  to  Italian. 
Cf.  Inf.  xv.  45  'com'  uom  che  riverente  vada' :  and  see  Diez,  iii. 
p.  347.  We  may  render  very  closely  in  English  '  a  star  to  bring 
up  the  morning ',  showing  how  it  sprang  naturally  from  the  Latin 
use  of  the  relative  with  the  subjunctive. 

1.  10.  The  same  image  as  in  the  last  piece,  St.  2, 1.  7  ;  con- 
firming the  emendation  there  adopted. 

Stanza  2,  11.  8,  9.  This  notion  of  the  lover's  heart  being 
taken  from  him  and  entering  into  the  lady  is  often  met  with. 
The  passage  at  the  opening  of  the  Vita  Nuova  is  the  most 
famous  instance. 

1.  10.  degiate :  an  imperative  to  debbo  is  hard  to  render. 
Perhaps  '  do  your  duty,  and  provide  me '  may  serve ;  unless, 
indeed,  we  ought  to  read  degnateci. 

Stanza  3, 1.  5.  Casini  would  save  the  metre  by  omitting  da  ; 
but  see  above,  No.  XI,  St.  8,  1.  6. 

1.  10.  According  to  a  note  to  V.R.V.,  a  blot  has  hidden  the 
letters  between  sg  and  i.     Their  restoration  is  pretty  obvious. 

Stanza  4,  1.  1.  meve :  this  form  of  me  is  common.  It  may 
not  improbably  represent  Lat.  memet.  The  tendency  of  m  to 
become  v  is  seen  in  novero  from  numerus. 

Stanza  5,  1.  7.  The  suggestion  ned  a,  for  the  neda  of  the 
MS.,  is  Valeriani's.  A.R.V.  has  ne  di,  which  does  not  seem  to 
make  sense. 

1.  9.  Val.  has  no  stop  after  penando,  A.R.V.  a  comma.  The 
punctuation  in  the  text  seems  better,  rendering  '  though  I  should 
die  in  my  pain ' :  or  perhaps  '  my  waiting ',  a  sense  which  the 
word  has  more  than  once  in  Boccaccio. 

1.  10.  The  allusion  is  obscure.  According  to  the  editors  of 
A.R.V.,  Grion  discovered  a  castle  called  Monteil,  near  Bard  in 
Piedmont  (known  to  travellers  through  the  Mont-Cenis  tunnel), 
the  owner  of  which  was  one  Jacopo  del  Carretto,  lord  of  Ivrea 
and  the  Canavese,  married  to  a  daughter  of  Frederick  ;  and 
assumes  that  this  serventese  was  addressed  to  him  (why  not 
her?).     They  do   not,  however,  seem   to  think  much   of  this 


r7o  NOTES 

identification  ;  and  it  is  hard  to  see  why  a  poet  in  Apulia  should 
be  writing  for  a  lady  so  remote,  or  calling  her  '  the  flower  of 
Messina '.  There  is  a  place  called  Montella,  a  little  way  inland 
from  Salerno,  which,  if  we  are  to  speculate,  seems  more  eligible. 
Val.  reads  in  Mont.,  but  there  seems  no  need  for  this.  '  If  you 
are  not  where  the  country  of  Mont,  is'  gives  a  good  enough 
sense. 

XIV. 

In  this  exquisite  elegy  the  poetry  of  the  early  period  seems  to 
reach  its  culminating  point.  In  sincerity,  in  absence  of  anything 
like  a  'conceit',  in  manly  resignation,  its  treatment  of  a  theme 
which  has  since  been  handled  by  famous  men,  Dante,  Cino, 
Petrarch,  has  not  even  by  them  been  surpassed.  Nothing 
certain  is  known  of  the  author.  Valeriani,  who  first  printed  this 
ode,  calls  him  'of  Prato';  on  the  ground,  says  Monaci,  that  there 
was  a  family  of  Pugliesi  in  that  city.  These  were  no  doubt 
immigrants  from  Apulia ;  and  Giacomino  may  have  settled 
there.  But  his  language  is  certainly  Apulian— he  writes,  for 
instance,  chiace  for  piace.  Monaci  suggests,  with  some  plausi- 
bility, that  he  may  be  the  Giacomino  whose  name  appears 
among  the  witnesses  to  a  deed  executed  at  Cividale  in  Friuli 
in  1235.  Frederick  and  his  Court  were  at  Aquileia  in  May  of 
that  year,  on  the  way  to  Germany,  and  Cividale  would  have 
lain  on  their  route.  In  one  of  his  poems  the  author  apostro- 
phizes a  lady  as  holding  rule  over  all  ladies  from  Germany 
to  Aquileia,  showing  that  Friuli  was  a  familiar  region  to  him. 

Giacomino  was  evidently  known  to  the  next  generation,  for 
Guido  Cavalcanti's  ballata  '  La  forte  e  nova  mia  disaventura' 
contains  an  obvious  echo  of  this  poem  in  the  lines  '  Che  la  gentil 
piacevol  donna  mia  |  da  1'  anima  distrutta  s'  e  partita  ;  |  si  ch'  io 
non  veggio  la  dov'  ella  sia,  |  non  e  rimaso  in  me  tanta  balia.' 
He  seems  also  to  have  been  something  of  an  experimentalist  in 
metre,  as  the  next  poem  shows. 

The  Vat.  MS.,  which  alone  has  preserved  Giacomino's  verses, 
has  given  them  in  a  sadly  disorganized  form.  The  present 
poem  is  printed  by  Valeriani  and  in  A.R.V.  in  stanzas  of  vary- 
ing length,  ten  and  eleven  lines.  Casini  would  make  them  all 
of  nine.     Monaci  has  them  correctly.    There  can  be  no  doubt 


NOTES  171 

that  they  are  of  ten ;  11.  7  and  10  being  of  five  syllables.  The 
MS.  has  also  obviously  transposed  the  first  four  lines  of  Stanzas 
3  and  4,  besides  introducing  superfluous  lines,  perhaps  from 
other  versions.  The  structure  of  the  stanza  is  plain  enough ; 
the  first  section  of  four  lines,  the  second,  or,  to  use  Dante's  word, 
sirima,  of  six,  the  third  and  sixth  of  these  being,  as  has  been 
said,  short.     Rime-scheme  :  ABABCCDCCD. 

Stanza  I,  11.  6,  9.  The  repetition  of  allegranza  is  clearly 
wrong.     For  the  first  we  might  suggest  leansa,  '  allegiance.' 

Stanza  2,  1.  3.  Cf.  V.  N.  §  32,  Canzone,  1. 1 5  '  Ita  n'  e  Beatrice 
in  1'  alto  cielo.'     Dante,  too,  no  doubt  knew  his  Giacomino. 

11.  6.  7.  The  Vat.  MS.  reads:  levomi  dagioco  e  canti e  dela- 
dolze  compagnia  chio  7/iavea  delgliamanti. 

Stanza  3.  As  said  above,  the  MS.  has  transposed  the  first 
sections  of  this  and  the  next  stanza.  The  second  section  of  this 
is  so  plainly  a  reply  to  the  first,  that  the  restoration  is  obvious. 

I.  5.     The  omission  of  che  before  sia  is  a  common  idiom. 

II.  6,  7.     MS. :  madonna  lotuo  viso  chelotene  insva  ballia. 
Stanza  4,  1.  1.     The  MS.  reads  iranza,  which  gives  perhaps 

an  even  better  sense,  with  its  suggestion  of  passages  in  the 
Psalms. 

11.  5,  6.  Between  these,  Vat.  MS.  inserts :  elssua  nobile  gien- 
tilia  ;  an  obvious  variant. 

1.  10.    la  :  MS.  followed  by  Val.  in. 

Stanza  5,  11.  1,  2,  3.  This  enumeration  of  territories,  as  the 
height  of  all  that  could  be  desired,  is  a  characteristic  feature  of 
the  early  poets.  Other  instances,  though  none  perhaps  quite  so 
comprehensive,  will  be  found. 


XV. 

In  this  rather  free  poem,  hardly  to  be  dignified  by  the  name 
of  canzone,  we  have  Giacomino  in  a  lighter  mood.  It  is  also 
one  of  his  experiments  in  rhythm.  The  text,  perhaps  owing  to 
the  metrical  eccentricity,  has  again  suffered  at  the  scribe's 
hands,  and  presents  several  lacunae  not  easy  to  fill.  Casini, 
entirely  (as  I  think)  misunderstanding  the  metre,  has  re-written 
the  poem  in  stanzas  of  six  hendecasyllabic  lines ;    which  has 


172  NOTES 

involved  the  insertion  of  several  unnecessary  little  words.    From 
a  careful  comparison  of  all  the  stanzas,  the  following  scheme  is 

arrived  at : — 

\j  —  \j  —  <u  —  <*j  —  w  (J>is) 
u  —  v^i  —  v^i  —  ^  —  ^  —  ^  (Jer) 
\J  —  <u  —  </       w  —  \J  —  \~> 

The  rime-scheme  is  equally  original :  aBaBbCDCD — which 
has  caused  some  editors  to  print  the  stanzas  as  of  nine  lines. 

Stanza  1, 1.  i.  Ispendiente :  so  the  MS.  which  Mon.  follows: 
A.R.V.  preferring,  perhaps  rightly,  to  read  isplendiente.  But 
until  we  know  more  of  thirteenth-century  Apulian  it  seems  safer 
to  stick  to  the  text.  The  /  is  probably  represented  by  the  /  of 
the  third  syllable:  splendere — spiendere—spendiere.  There  is, 
however,  a  Prov.  espenher,  corresponding  to  Ital.  spingere,  with 
similar  senses.  Dante  does  not  seem  to  use  spingere,  though  he 
has  the  compound  sospingere  often  enough,  in  the  sense  of 
'rouse',  'stimulate'.  This  would  be  very  appropriate  here. 
The  i  would  arise  from  an  attempt  to  imitate  the  sound  of  Prov. 
nh,  and  the  d  would  almost  inevitably  slip  in  after  the  n. — Stella 
d'albore  :  cf.  No.  XIII,  St.  i,  1.  2  :  st.  che  levi  la  dia. 

1.  4.  This  line  as  given  in  the  MS.  lacks  a  syllable.  The 
insertion  of  non  improves  the  sense,  and  is  justifiable  on  the 
ground  that  similarity  of  termination  frequently  caused  the 
scribe  to  omit  the  latter  of  two  words. 

Stanza  2,  1.  3.  diportanza  :  '  pastime ', '  sport '.  Diporto 
is  the  more  usual  form. 

1.  4.  dicei  for  dicevi  ;  '  you  kept  saying '. 

Stanza  3,  1.  2.  conquiso :  this  French  form  occurs  in 
Purg.  xxiii.  45. 

1.  3.  The  MS.  reads  si  che  davoi  nonsso  par  tire.  Val.  has 
auso  (for  osd) ;  A.R.V.  and  Mon.  oso.  The  trifling  alteration 
made  in  the  text  preserves  the  internal  rime. 

Stanza  4, 1.  3.  Here  again  the  MS.  has  made  a  hash  of  rime 
and  metre — se  nom fosse  ladolze  aita. 

1.  5.    Two  syllables  short  in  MS. 

Stanza  5,  1.  2.  Either  this  is  a  lapse  into  the  measure  of 
the  sixth  line,  or  we  must  read  a  me  tenia. — Rosa  novella : 
compare  the  opening  of  No,  XL. 


NOTES  173 

1.  3.  Observe  the  ingenuity  with  which  the  rime  -ia  is 
obtained. 

1.  4.  Probably  corrupt.  A  syllable  is  almost  certainly  lacking, 
for  the  hiatus  of  O  in  is  unusual  and  disagreeable ;  in  fide 
(=' faith'  expletive)  is  doubtful;  and  it  seems  impossible  to 
make  sense  of  fosti  fiatuta.  The  metre  might  be  amended  by 
reading  fosti  ti ;  but  the  difficulty  of  the  sense  would  remain. 
One  might  read  fostiti  pattuta  (for  pattuitd),  ( thou  hadst 
pledged  thyself. 

Stanza  6, 1.  1.  intando  :  seems  to  stand  for  intanto,  *  the 
while '. 

1.  3.  Again  a  syllable  short.  We  might  read  se  ten  vai. 
There  is  no  internal  rime. 

Stanza  7.  Dislocated  in  MS.,  1.  6  being  inserted  between 
2  and  3.  This  line  and  1.  5  are  also  short.  I  have  suggested 
possible  rectifications. 

I.  2.  '  Folks  who  have  charge  of  you ' ;  parents  or  guard- 
ians, always  a  terror  to  wooers.  The  omission  of  the  relative 
is  as  common  in  Italian,  at  least  down  to  Machiavelli,  as  in 
English. 

Stanza  8, 1.  3.  Again  the  internal  rime  is  missing.  Probably 
the  text  is  wrong  in  both  places. 

II.  5>  6.  The  MS.  reads:  asai  verssi  canta  giacomino  che 
sparte  direo  amore,  which  gives  neither  sense  nor  metre.  The 
correction  of  1.  5  is  pretty  obvious  ;  for  1.  6  we  must  depend  on 
conjecture :  based  indeed  on  the  main  theme  of  the  poem,  the 
iniquity  of  '  him  who  parts  two  loving  hearts ' — to  quote  a  lyric 
popular  some  forty  years  ago. 

XVI. 

Giacomino  here  remonstrates  with  his  lady,  supposing  her  to  be 
estranged  through  having  lent  too  easy  an  ear  to  the  slanders  of 
tnal  parladori — the  stock  villains  of  these  little  dramas — who 
have  thrown  doubts  on  his  loyalty  to  her ;  not  without  a  threat  of 
poetic  reprisals.  He  evidently  does  not  intend  to  be  taken  too 
seriously  ;  for  he  has  set  his  complaint  to  a  tripping  trochaic 
measure   of  eight   syllables,   very  different  from   that    of  the 


174  NOTES 

pathetic  Aforle,  perche.  It  is  broken  in  every  stanza  by  the  fifth 
line,  an  ordinary  hendecasyllable,  but  resuming  afterwards 
with  an  even  more  lively  step,  produced  by  the  insertion  of 
two  short  lines.  It  is  perhaps  the  poet's  most  felicitous  inven- 
tion in  metre  (A.R.V.  makes  the  stanzas  of  varying  length; 
Casini  proposes  to  make  each  of  nine  lines,  by  a  somewhat 
Procrustean  method).    Rime-scheme  :  ABABCDDCDDC. 

Stanza  i,  1.  6.    e  cotanto :  MS.  cotante. 

11.  7,  8.     MS.  transposes  lo  core  and  tuttora. 

1.  8.  sbaldire :  '  to  be  bold,  merry '.  From  baldo  ;  a  Teu- 
tonic word,  of  which  the  oldest  form  is  Goth,  balths.  It  appears 
as  a  termination  in  many  Lombard  names  ;  and  is  found  in  all  the 
eastern  Romanic  group.  Curiously  enough,  Spanish  does  not 
seem  to  have  retained  it ;  for  the  words  in  that  language  which 
appear  to  resemble  it  have  from  the  first  a  totally  different 
meaning,  and  Diez  is  inclined  to  derive  them  from  Arabic. 
Dante  has  baldo  and  sbs.  formed  from  it ;  but  not  the  verb, 
which  is  a  favourite  with  his  predecessors. 

Stanza  2,  11.  7-1 1.  MS.  eldispresgio  uostro  emiso  fiosto 
donna  intutto  desio  sialtamore  discese.  Except  for  the  missing 
1.  10  the  emendation  is  fairly  obvious ;  and  quando  veggio,  or 
something  like  it,  fits  the  sense.  For  the  sentiment,  compare 
Spenser's 

O  fairest  fair,  let  it  be  never  named 
That  so  fair  beauty  was  so  foully  shamed. 

1.  9.  posto  :  '  laid  down '. 

Stanza  4, 1.  2.  MS.  verme  nonfare  ;  perhaps  better.  Note 
the  throwing  back  of  the  accent  in  fdllia,  bdllia.  The  four 
'sdrucciolo'  rimes  add  to  the  generally  jovial  effect  of  the 
metre. 

Stanza  5,  1.  2.  bello  sacco  can  hardly  stand.  I  have 
suggested  (after  A.R.V.)  an  obvious  correction.  Bello  for  ben 
lo  is  common  in  the  MSS. 

1.  5.    Note  sia,  dissyllable  before  sp. 

1.  6.  t'  infinga :  'makes  you  pretend'.  The  reflexive  in- 
fingersi  is  more  usually  found. 

1.  8.    trezeria :  '  treachery '.    Fr.  tricherle)  Prov.  tricharia. 


NOTES  i7S 

XVII. 

Nothing  whatever  is  known  of  Compagnetto  of  Prato,  except 
that  he  seems  from  his  style  to  be  rather  later  than  those 
hitherto  represented.  Only  two  poems  of  his  are  extant.  They  are 
of  no  very  special  merit,  but  interesting  as  examples  of  popular 
verse,  illustrating  the  lax  code  of  domestic  morality  which  in 
the  next  century  found  its  classic  in  the  Decameron.  Gaspary 
(S.  P.  S.,  pp.  149  sqq.)  gives  a  good  summary,  and  suggests 
some  emendations.  Here  the  husband's  ill-treatment  of  his 
wife  drives  her  into  the  arms  of  a  lover.  This  piece  again  is  in 
trochaic  ottonari;  but  Compagnetto  handles  the  metre  with  far 
less  grace  than  Giacomino.    Rime-scheme  :  ABABCDCDC. 

Stanza  i,  1.  6.  Gaspary  suggests  :  Talpenser  b — no  V  avea —  ; 
i.  e.  '  it  has  now  first  come  into  my  mind  '. 

I.  9.  MS.  (which  shifts  1.  4  to  the  end  of  the  stanza)  in  gran 
g.  mi  fa.  I  have  altered  the  order  of  the  words,  in  order  to  give 
gioia  a  right  to  be  two  syllables.    The  line  thus  runs  smoother. 

Stanza  2,  1.  5.  acasgionasti :  '  you  have  given  me  occa- 
sion for '. 

II.  5,  6.  tal . . .  c'  amanza,  etc.  *  Such  that  there  was  no 
love  between  us ',  i.  e. '  for  whom  I  had  no  love,  nor  he  for  me  '. 
The  construction  is  precisely  similar  to  that  of  Purg.  iii.  41  : 
'  tai,  che  sarebbe  lor  disio  quetato '. — Avea  :  '  there  was ' ;  vi 
avea  is  more  usual  (Fr.  il  y  avait),  but  the  simple  verb  is 
common  enough  ;  so  abe  in  St.  3,  1.  3. — The  first  syllable  of 
1.  6  must  be  regarded  as  extra  metrum  ;  as  is  the  e  in  1.  2  of 
the  next  stanza. 

I.7.  MS.  madache  lomiric,  i.e.  'since  you  made  me  re- 
collect him  '.  But  she  has  said  that  she  had  never  thought  of 
him  before.  So  it  seems  better  to  drop  the  lo  (which  strictly 
ought  to  be  fie)  and  take  ricordasti= '  put  a  new  heart  in  me '. 

Stanza  3, 1.  2.    dicie  si :  '  asks  if. 

1.  4.  dimino  :  for  dominio.  So  ditnestico  for  dotnestico,  and 
conversely  domandare  for  dimandare  (see  Meyer-Liibke,  Altit. 
Gram.  §  137). — Note  male  in  this  and  the  next  line  still  in  use 
as  adj. 

1.  9.    ridito  :    '  returned '.      Directly  from  Lat.  redire,  for 


176  NOTES 

which  ric'dere  is  now  used.  Dante  has  reddire,  as  in  Par. 
xviii.  ii. — Note  again  the  Scriptural  diction  :  Psalm  xxx.  {Vulg. 
xxix.)  12. 

Stanza  4.  Here,  as  Gaspary  points  out,  the  vague  mal 
parladori  are  personified  in  a  particular  old  woman. 

1.  4.  rifina :  perhaps  only  '  makes  an  end  of ' ;  this  sense  of 
rifinare  occurs  in  No.  LIV,  St.  I,  1.  8 ;  and  in  Boccaccio.  But 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  means  here  '  does  not  mince  her 
words  '.     Gloss.  Occit.  renders  refinamen  by  soulagetnent. 

1.  5.  The  molto  of  the  MS.  spoils  the  metre;  unless  we  are 
to  read  airoso. 

Stanza  5,  11.  2, 4.  The  rime  of  a  word  to  itself  in  the  same 
sense  is  quite  contrary  to  rule  ;  and  in  this  case  it  is  hard  to  see 
the  construction  of  the  second  credere.  This  might  be  rectified 
by  reading  lor  nonde'  c,  but  the  other  objection  would  remain. 
May  we  read  chiedere  in  the  sense  of  '  go  after  them ',  or  '  seek 
information  from  them  '  ? 


XVIII. 

Even  Trucchi  is  unprepared  with  any  conjecture  as  to  the 
identity  of  Jacopo  of  Aquino.  We  may  perhaps  assume  that 
he  belonged  to  the  same  family  as  Rinaldo.  The  only  thing 
that  tells  against  this  supposition  is  that  he  is  not  styled  Messer, 
as  Rinaldo  is,  in  the  MS.  (though  the  title  is  conferred  on 
him  in  A.R.V.).  This  is  the  only  poem  of  his  that  has  been 
preserved.  The  theme  is  the  old  one,  of  the  lover's  absence 
from  his  mistress  ;  but  the  versification  is  spirited.  The  metre 
is  peculiar ;  four  of  the  ordinary  lines  being  followed  by  six 
short,  of  which  the  first,  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  are  five 
syllables,  the  second  and  last,  seven.  The  result  is  a  fine 
swaggering  lilt.  One  can  almost  see  the  disconsolate  lover 
ruffling  it  down  the  street,  hand  on  hilt,  flinging  his  short  lines 
from  side  to  side,  as  though  challenging  all  the  world  to  show 
fidelity  like  his.  It  would  do  credit  to  one  of  our  own  early 
17th-century  poets.    Rime-scheme  :  ABABBCCCCB. 

Stanza  1,  1.  3.  crio,  credo ;  so  vio  for  vedo.  Bembo, 
Prose  iii,  remarks  on  these  forms ;  and  Castelvetro  notes  that 


NOTES  177 

Lat.  creare  has  similarly  become  criare.  Here,  however,  the 
change  from  e  to  *  is  probably  dialectic. 

1.  5.  Vaio  ne  griso :  '  rich  robe  nor  plain  '.  Vaio,  '  fur ', 
from  varius. 

1.6.    gioia  here =' jewel'. 

Stanza  2,  1.  1.  afina, '  refines '.  Fino  amore  is  the  tech- 
nical term  for  chivalrous  love  ;  several  instances  of  its  use  have 
already  occurred.  Remembering  this,  we  see  the  full  force  of 
'  il  fuoco  che  gli  affina '  in  the  last  line  of  Purg.  xxvi. 

1.  6.  sed=j^;  a  mistaken  analogy  with  ched  for  che,  where 
the  d  is  a  survival. 

1.  10.  giente  :  a  Prov.  word.,— gentile.  See  note  to  No.  VI, 
St.  4, 1.  5. 

Stanza  3, 1.  2.    MS.  suo  more. 

I.  4.    mi  sovene :  '  comes  to  my  aid '. 

II.  6-9.  Note  that,  whether  written  -eio  or  to,  the  termination 
is  the  same  for  purposes  of  rime. 

Gaspary  again  finds  in  these  lines  traces  of  Provencal  influence, 
because  Arnaut  de  Maruelh  has  something  similar.  But  surely 
the  idea  might  occur  to  two  poets  independently.  Did  not 
Shakespeare,  who  certainly  never  read  either  Arnaut  or  Jacopo, 
write : — 

Thus  have  I  had  thee  as  a  dream  doth  flatter; 
In  sleep  a  king,  but  waking,  no  such  matter? 

1.  7.  donneio  :  •  make  love ',  '  court '.  The  word  occurs  twice 
in  the  Paradiso,  xxiv.  118  and  xxvii.  88,  in  a  spiritualized  sense. 
The  full  form  is  donneggio. 

Stanza  4,  11.  1-4.  In  these  lines  Gaspary  finds  a  remini- 
scence of  Aimeric  de  Belenoi ;  and  here  the  suggestion  is  more 
plausible,  for,  though  the  simile  of  the  mirror  is  somewhat 
differently  applied,  two  of  the  lines  he  quotes  from  the  Pro- 
vencal poet — 

Que,  quand  ulhors  cortei, 
Pensan  ab  lieis  dompnei — 

when  compared  with  11.  4-7  of  the  last  stanza,  suggest  that 
Jacopo  may  have  had  them  in  mind. 


178  NOTES 

A  somewhat  similar  idea  is  prettily  expressed  in  a  sonnet  by 
Pannuccio  del  Bagno  (A.R.V.  cccvi) : 

E  quando  te  veder,  lasso,  non  oso, 
ne  veder  posso,  miro,  in  fede  mia, 
dentro  a  mio  core,  ove  io  te  porto  e  guardo. 

(I  take  the  reading  of  V.R.V.) 


XIX. 

A  group  of  Sicilians  of  the  island  itself  follow  here  ;  those  who 
have  hitherto  appeared  being  for  the  most  part  Apulians,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Notary,  who  seems  to  have  lived  mostly  at 
the  Court.  Tommaso  di  Sasso  is  only  a  name ;  no  record  of 
him  has  been  preserved.  His  Muse,  however,  is  not  deficient  in 
energy,  and  his  power  of  handling  a  complicated  measure  is 
remarkable.  The  text  is  in  a  bad  state,  not  always  improved  by 
Allacci's  editing.  The  stanza  is  of  12  lines  ;  1,  2,  4,  7,  10  being 
heptasyllabic,  the  rest  hendecasyllabic.  A  curious  feature  is 
the  absence  of  any  rime  to  the  final  lines.  Rime-scheme : 
ABbCCDdAEeFfGGHh  nil.  The  internal  rimes  in  11.  3,  6,  9, 
12  are  on  the  sixth  syllable ;  in  8  and  11  on  the  fourth. 

STANZA  1, 1.  2.  Allacci  is  clearly  right  in  omitting  the  e  dolzi 
pianti  of  the  MS.,  which  spoil  the  metre.  A.R.V.  retains  them, 
making  the  line  hendecasyllabic. 

I.  3.  MS. :  amore  chema  donato  aduna  dona  amare.  The 
repetition  of  dona,  duna,  dona  probably  confused  the  scribe. 
All.  retains  it ;  also  Val.,  who  divides  it  into  two  lines,  putting 
this  stanza  out  of  agreement  with  the  rest  ;  A.R.V.  has  amor 
che  dato  m'd  d.  a.,  which  brings  the  internal  rime  into  the  wrong 
place.  Besides,  donato,  *  made  a  grant ',  is  the  more  effective 
word.     Perhaps  adonato,  '  subdued ',  would  be  even  better. 

II.  8,  9.  Note  the  rime  sforzo — posso  (MS.  pozo).  Sforzo 
doubtless  became  sfrozo  by  the  shifting  of  r  common  in  all 
languages,  but  especially  in  Italian  (for  examples,  see  Meyer- 
Liibke,  §  288,  Diez,  i,  p.  207) ;  the  z— perhaps  under  Greek 
influence  in  the  South — becoming  ss. 

Stanza  2, 1.  3  ;  paccio^asM^. 


NOTES  179 

1.  5.   allaccia  :  '  enmeshes ',  '  catches  in  his  noose  '. 

1.  6.  mi  schianto  :  '  am  shivered  to  pieces'.  Changes  of  meta- 
phor are  not  uncommon. 

1.  7.  che :  the  antecedent  must  be  '  my  condition ',  or  '  the 
state  of  affairs '. 

Stanza  3,  1.  1 :  the  umile  of  the  MS.  is  clearly  a  gloss  on 
umano ;  suggested  perhaps  by  '  Umile  sono  ed  orgoglioso ',  the 
opening  line  of  a  lyric  by  Ruggieri  Pugliesi,  in  which  a  similar 
fantastic  list  of  contradictory  qualities  effected  by  the  influence 
of  Love  is  recited. 

I.  4.  piagando  :  MS.  piegando,  as  noted.  But  the  meaning 
must  be  '  heals  while  he  wounds '. 

1.  6.  chiano  :  Sicilian  for  piano. 

I.  9.  MS.  dolore ;  but  Allacci's  dolzore,  which  Val.  adopts,  is 
clearly  needed  to  carry  out  the  image  of  the  previous  three  lines. 
'  The  lover  finds  more  delight  in  the  rough  waters  of  unsatisfied 
longing  than  in  the  possession  which  Love  torments  with 
jealousies.' 

Stanza  4, 1.  4.  varo  :  vario,  '  diverse '. 

II.  5  sqq.  '  Snow  that  has  become  crystal  cannot,  by  the  law 
of  its  being,  become  uncongealed  again ' ;  the  old  notion  being 
that  crystal  was  ice  in  an  extra-hardened  form. — avene  for 
diviene  is  usual  enough. — squalgliare  :  Lat.  dis-coagulare  ;  Fr. 
cailler. — per  rasgione :  ragione  seems  to  be  the  Gr.  Xoyos, 
1  formal  cause,'  that  which  makes  a  thing  what  it  is.  Cf.  No.  I 
St.  3, 1.  9. 

1.  9.  These  illustrations  from  water  and  ice  become  more 
common  in  the  latter  half  of  the  century ;  from  which  we  may 
perhaps  infer  that  Tommaso  did  not  belong  to  the  earliest 
group. 

Stanza  5,  1.  4.  astutare :  '  to  smother.'  Of  obscure  origin. 
Diez  inclines  to  take  it  from  Lat.  tutari,  '  to  protect ' ;  the  con- 
necting link  being  the  idea  of  covering  up. 

The  internal  rime  is  missing. 

1.  8.  saver  voria  seems  to  mean  '  I  would  have  it  known '. 

1.  11.  inorare  :  onorare. 

1.  12.  For  non,  fero  or  some  such  word  seems  to  be  wanted. 


N  2 


i8o  NOTES 


XX. 


Guido  de  Columnis,  Judge  of  Messina,  is  a  well-known  figure 
in  mediaeval  literature,  and  his  fame  lasted  for  some  centuries. 
His  history  of  the  Fall  of  Troy,  based  of  course  on  the  so-called 
Dares  Phrygius,  continued  to  be  the  most  popular  work  of  enter- 
tainment at  least  down  to  1500.     He  is  said  to  have  gone  to 
England  with   Edward   I,   and   to   have    written   on   English 
matters.     The  Trojan  book,  finished,  as  the  author  tells  us, 
in  1287,  had  been  begun  at  least  fifteen  years  before,  at  the 
instance  of  Matheus  de  Porta,  Archbishop  of  Salerno,  who 
died   in    1272.      Doubts    have,   of  course,   been    cast    on    the 
identity  of  the  poet  and  the  prose-romancer  ;  it  has  been  sug- 
gested that  two  gentlemen  of  the  same  name  may  have  been 
judges  at  Messina,  perhaps  in  succession.     They  may ;    but, 
if  so,  it  is  strange  that  Dante,  who  refers  to  this  poem  twice 
5      in  V.  E.>  in  one  place  (ii.  4)  naming  the  author,  should  not 
have  indicated  that  the  '  Judex  Guido  '  to  whom  he  ascribes  it 
was  not  the  famous  veteran  of  letters,  who  had  been  for  over 
twenty  years  his  contemporary,  and  with  whom  the  name  would 
have  been  chiefly  associated  by  his  readers.    It  was  first  printed 
r^-rrctstW    'n   l^e  S°netti  e  Canzoni  (1527),   edited  to   suit  the  taste  of 
x-^*4^"^^^  r       the  age.     Dante  (V.  E.  i.  12)  quotes  the  first   line  as  an  ex- 
•jL^^p^Jirt^-:  '     ample  of  the  Sicilian  school  without  naming  any  author ;  but 
•  %\  vf^"        m  conjunction  with  Ancor  che  Faigua.    The  poem,  which  was 
i**-****  written  probably   not  before  1250,  at   which   date  the  author 

might  have  been  about  thirty  years  old,  shows  a  distinct 
change  from  the  earliest  school.  The  diction  is  easier  and 
more  finished,  and  there  is  a  kind  of  attempt  to  find  somewhat 
far-fetched  parallels  from  natural  objects,  and  work  them  out 
elaborately,  and  a  sententious  tone  very  different  from  the  light- 
hearted  way  in  which  the  earlier  people  throw  in  salamanders, 
panthers,  and  heroes  of  romance  to  illustrate  their  feelings. 
Also  the  diction  is  graver  and  more  sententious  and  the  stanza 
longer.  We  are  on  the  road  to  Guittone  and  Guido  Caval- 
canti. 

The  stanza  is  of  thirteen  lines,  all  hendecasyllabic.     Rime- 
scheme  :  ABBbABBABCCDdAA. 


NOTES  181 

Stanza  i,  1.  3.  redine:  'reins'.  From  Lat.  re tinere ;  sub- 
stituted, Diez  suggests,  for  the  classical  habena  when  that  word 
came  into  danger  of  confusion  with  avena,  'oats';  which  might 
no  doubt  be  awkward  in  the  stable. 

1.  4.  soperchianza :  '  excess ' ;  in  this  case,  of  severity. 

1.  7.  The  fidelity  of  the  '  Assassins'  to  their  chief,  the  '  Old 
Man  of  the  Mountain ',  is  a  favourite  illustration,  cuitato : 
'  thought ',  '  care  ',  '  purpose '.  A  Prov.  word  ;  cuidar  is  from 
Lat.  cogitare.  The  Italian  form  is  coto  (cogt'tatus),  as  in  Inf.  xxxi. 
77,  Par.  iii.  26.     Hence  too  oltracotanza,  Fr.  outrecuidance. 

1.  9.  este  :  Lat.  est.  Used  by  Dante  once  in  rime,  Par.  xxix. 
141 — (where  I  now  incline  to  think  that  'sono  ed  este'  is 
probably  the  correct  reading). 

1.  12.  squaglia  :  see  note,  No.  XIX,  St.  4,  1.  5  sqq.  Here  it 
seems  to  mean  '  breaks  me  up '.  Che  is  omitted,  and  not 
needed  ;  though  Val.  reads  che  si.  But  the  Giunta  retains  cost. 
Or  the  words  may  be  parenthetical :  '  let  reward  for  my  trouble 
— so  does  it  dissolve  me— take  hold  of  you '. 

Stanza  2,  1.  1.  ciera:  'countenance'.  A  loan-word  from 
OFr.  chiere.  Cara  in  this  sense  is  found  in  Latin  of  the  seventh 
century.  See  Ducange,  s.v.  Sp.  cara.  It  may  be  the  Gr.  K&pa, 
'  head ' ;  not  a  very  satisfactory  derivation,  for  want  of  historical 
evidence,  but  better  than  cerea,  '  waxen ',  suggested  by  Meyer- 
Liibke,  which,  among  other  things,  does  not  account  for  the 
Spanish  form.  Hence  Eng.  cheer ;  at  first  in  such  phrases  as 
'  good  cheer ',  directly  from  Fr.  '  bonne  chere ',  '  friendly  coun- 
tenance '.     In  Elizabethan  English  '  cheer  '  =  '  entertain  '. 

1.  7.  grave  for  gravi;  possibly  a  stage  on  the  road  from  Lat. 
gravet. 

1.  12.  dotto  :  '  I  fear '  ;  a  sense  which  '  doubt'  once  had  in 
Eng.,  doute  in  Fr.,  and  which  survives  in  redoubtable.  Lat. 
dubito  hardly  conveys  more  than  '  doubt '. 

I.  13.  vince  guerra  :  so  '  vince  ogni  battaglia'-,  Inf.  xxiv.  53. 
Stanza  3,  1.  8.  raffrene  again  for  raffreni. 

Stanza  4,  11.  1,  2 :  cf.  No.  Ill,  St.  2.  The  concealed  flame 
is  of  course  a  stock  image. 

II.  5,  6  :  '  the  inward  burden  and  the  countenance  agree,  and 
make  a  show  of  how  they  fare  '. 


i82  NOTES 

1.  II :  Render  'it  is  surely  good  sense,  in  him  who  can  do  it*. 
The  omission  of  the  antecedent  in  such  phrases  is  not  un- 
common. See  Diez,  iii.  354,  where  this  line  is  instanced.  In 
the  Giunta,  edited  after  the  idiom  had  gone  out  of  use,  ha  has 
been  substituted  for  ^. 


XXI. 
This  poem  is  cited  by  Dante,    V.  E.  i.  12,  in  a  somewhat 
important  passage.   He  has  been  saying  that  the  Sicilian  school, 
having  been  the  first  to  acquire  fame,  had  given  its  name  to  all 
the  Italian  poetry  of  the  first  period  ;  and  he  proceeds  to  give, 
as  examples  of  the  Sicilian  '  teachers '  in  their  serious  work, 
(-J  this  and  the  preceding,  though  without  naming  their  authors.* 
X   it  '*  *\  The  Vat.  MS.  does  not  include  this  piece,  but  it  is  in  the  Lau- 

iaP^  rentian  and   (partly)  in  the   Palatine  collections,  from  which 

°$i  •  Monaci  has  edited  it.     Nannucci  and  Valeriani  also  have  it. 

<yi<t/wf  The  stanza  is  of  19  lines;  I,  4,  5,  8,  12,  19  being  11  syllables, 

vc_    1/     »    '     the   rest   9.     Rime-scheme:    ABBABAABBCC,DEDEFFGG. 
U— ■  The  internal  rimes  in  Stanzas  1,  1.  12  and  2,  1.  8  are  probably 

fortuitous. 

Stanza  i,  11.  1-8.  'Fire  will  not  warm  water,  unless 
there  be  a  vessel  between  them ;  if  they  are  brought  into 
direct  contact,  either  the  fire  will  be  put  out,  or  the  water 
dried  up.' 

I.  5.  averrea  :  avveria,  avverrebbe,  from  avvenire,  to  happen. 

II.  9-19.  '  Thus,  when  Love  put  forth  his  power  upon  me, 
I  should  have  been  wholly  consumed.'  The  image  has  been 
found  fault  with  as  pedantic ;  but  it  is  not  devoid  of  ingenuity. 
The  germ  of  it  may  perhaps  be  found  in  St.  Augustine's  famous 
sentence  :  '  Nondum  amabam  ;  et  amare  amabam  ;  et  quaere- 
bam  quod  amarem \ 

1.  15,  fora  :  \jsX.fueram.    See  note,  No.  Ill,  St.  4, 11.  11, 12. 

Stanza  2,  1.  12.  The  *  of  involto  disappears  in  scansion 
between  the  two  «'s. 

1.  16.  A  syllable  short,  unless  we  suppose  a  hiatus  between 
molti  and  amanti.     Perhaps  come  should  be  read  for  eke. 

1.  19.  Laur.  MS.  has  amaro,  which  saves  the  apparent  lack 


NOTES  183 

of  a  syllable.  But  eo  as  a  dissyllable  is  not  unknown,  especially 
when  there  is  some  emphasis  on  the  word. 

Stanza  3, 1.  1.  fiate,  as  usual,  in  three  syllables  ;  confirming 
the  derivation  from  Low  Lat.  vicata  (from  vices,  '  changes ', 
1  turns  ').  In  fact,  wherever  the  word  seems  to  be  two  syllables, 
at  any  rate  in  poetry  before  1400,  the  reading  (e.g.  the  usual 
trentajiate  in  Par.  xvi.  38)  may  be  suspected. 

1.  2.  s'  aranca  :  '  is  wrenched  '.  From  OHG.  rank  ;  akin  to 
our  wring,  wrench,  wrong.  The  mod.  senses  of  the  word,  '  to 
hurry '  (lit.  '  hobble  fast '),  and  '  to  spurt  in  rowing ',  can  easily 
be  traced  to  the  original  sense ;  as  can  the  mod.  German  rank, 
'  intrigue  ',  '  trick  '. 

1.  5.  abranca  :  '  claws ',  '  tears '. 

1.  11.  mantene :  imperative. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.  avia,  'leads  on  its  way'.  Inviare  is  more 
usual  in  this  sense. 

1.  5.  sporto  appears  to  be  for  sopporto. 

1.  13.  piagenti :  for  piacenti.  Universal  in  the  early  poets, 
but  obsolete  by  Dante's  time.  It  may  have  been  due  to  the 
Prov .  plazer. 

1.  14.  addobraro :  'doubled';  presumably  'made  me  twice 
the  man  I  was  '.  But  ought  we  not  to  read  addobbaro,  '  adorned ', 
as  in  Par.  xiv.  96  ?  Alumno  calls  this  word  '  vocabolo  francese', 
and  it  probably  came  into  Italian  from  Fr.  adouber,  '  to  dub ', 
though  its  origin  seems  to  be  Teutonic.  If  we  read  it  here  we 
might  render  '  made  me  her  knight '. 

1.  15.  tennero  mente  seems  here  to  be  used  literally,  '  kept 
a  mind  in  me '. 

Stanza  5, 11.  1-4.  Another  image  to  illustrate  the  doctrine 
that  Love  cannot  act  except  through  the  medium  of  a  loved 
person  ;  calamita  from  calamus,  the  original  compass  having 
been  constructed  with  a  needle  enclosed  in  a  piece  of  reed  or 
straw  and  floating  in  a  bowl  of  water  (Diez).  One  of  the 
earliest  notices  of  the  loadstone  is  cited  by  Humboldt  from 
a  Chinese  philosopher  named  Kuopho,  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury A.D. 

1.  5.  From  the  needle,  the  name  calamita  seems  to  have  been 
transferred  to  the  stone. 


i84  NOTES 

1.  8.  non  n'  anno  balia :  the  duty  has  not  been  entrusted  to 
them. 

1.  14.  ullo  was  probably  almost  obsolete  at  this  time  ;  it  does 
not  occur  in  Uante. 

XXII. 

Stanzas  of  nine  lines,  riming  ABC  ABCcDd  BC.  D  has  no 
corresponding  end-rime  in  the  stanza,  but  the  seventh  lines  of 
the  stanzas  rime  together.  A  somewhat  similar  arrangement 
will  be  found  in  the  envoi  to  the  •  Clerkes  tale ',  though  the 
internal  rime  is  there  lacking.  The  lines  are  hendecasyllabic, 
except  3  and  6,  which  are  heptasyllabic.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
the  first  line  of  each  stanza  repeats  the  last  word  of  the  pre- 
ceding. 

Stanza  i  ,  1.  7.  The  internal  rime  suggests  that  neente  may  be 
two  syllables,  in  which  case  we  must  read  lo  sua. 

Stanza  2, 1.  8.  abento.    See  note  to  No.  I,  St.  5, 1.  2. 

Stanza  3, 1.  9.   convento  :  •  agreement ', '  compact.' 

Stanza  4,  11.  I,  2.  Cf.  the  German  ballad,  •  Sie  hat  mir  die 
Treue  versprochen,  Und  gab  einen  Ring  dabei.'  The  resemblance 
can  hardly  be  other  than  fortuitous,  but  the  correspondence  is 
somewhat  curious,  considering  that  gifts  of  this  kind  must  have 
been  more  usual  from  the  lover  to  the  lady. 

1.  4.  per  troppo  savere  :  the  words  seem  to  be  ironical, 
•  she  knows  a  thing  too  much ' ;  they  can  hardly  be  meant,  in  the 
light  of  what  follows,  to  imply  a  confession  of  fickleness. 

Stanza  5, 1.  5.   inavanza  :  '  enough  and  to  spare '. 

1.  9.  ridente  for  ridenti  as  given  by  Val.  and  Nan.  can  hardly 
be  right  in  a  Sicilian  poem.  It  would  be  better  to  read  in 
11.  3  and  6  avenenti  and  soventi. 


XXIII. 

This  piece  has  the  air  of  an  early  production  of  the  author's. 
It  is  full  of  the  conventional  phrases  and  images  which  we  find 
in  the  versifiers  of  the  first  half  of  the  century.  Allacci  includes 
it  in  his  collection,  and  it  is  also  in  V.R.V.,  in  which  the  two 


NOTES  185 

preceding  poems  do  not  appear.  The  stanzas  are  of  12  lines, 
8  of  7  syllables,  4  of  11.     Rime-scheme  :  ABBCABBCcDDCC. 

Stanza  2, 1.  5.  aulore =attdore,  the  /  being  probably  due  to 
the  influence  of  aulere,  Lat.  adolere. 

11.  6,  7.  The  sweet  odour  of  the  panther  is  a  stock  image 
among  the  early  poets.  Brunetto  Latini  tells  us  about  it  in 
Tre'sor,  I.  v.  196.  After  eating,  the  animal  retires  to  a  cave  and 
sleeps  for  three  days,  and  then  '  se  lieue  et  oevre  sa  bouche,  et 
flaire  si  dous  et  si  soef  que  toutes  bestes  qui  sentent  l'odor  s'en 
vont  devant  li,  fors  seulement  li  dragons '.  Pliny  (Nat.  Hist. 
xxi.  18)  alludes  to  this  belief. 

I.  10.  fontana,  All.  fortuna.     So  in  1.  1  of  the  next  stanza. 

II.  II,  12.  'The  Old  Man  of  the  Mountains'  and  the  fidelity 
of  his  '  Assassins '  is  another  stock  comparison.  Cf.  No.  XX, 
St.  i,l.  7. 

Stanza  3, 1. 2.  spande,  All.  sfienda,  which  is  possibly  correct, 
since  a  subjunctive  seems  called  for. 

I.  7.  Allacci  transposes  e  and  ciertamente  with  improvement 
to  the  run  of  the  line. 

II.  6,  7.  tanta — tanta  can  hardly  pass  as  a  good  rime.  In 
A.R.V.  a  reading  sftanta  for  the  second  tanta  is  given  as  from 
Nann.,  who  assigns  it  to  Mazzeo  di  Rico.  Spantare,  Pr.  esfta- 
ventar,  Fr.  cpouvanter—l,X.o  frighten';  and  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  about  its  use  intransitively,  so  the  emendation  is  not 
unsatisfactory. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.  Used  as  the  first  line  of  No.  XXXV  by  Rug- 
gierone  da  Palermo. 

1.  8.  fina :  for  the  change  from  Lat.  -ire  to  -are  see  Wiese, 
225. 

1.  9.  Cf.  No.  XV,  St.  5 ;  here  the  lover  is  somewhat  more 
moderate  in  his  estimate. 

XXIV. 

Of  Mazzeo  di  Rico  practically  nothing  is  known  save  that 
Fra  Guittone  addressed  a  canzone  (No.  XLIV  in  the  present 
collection)  to  him,  and  that  he  was  of  Messina.  Monaci 
(Crestomasia,  p.  216)  gives  an  extract  from  an  Angevin  docu- 
ment concerning  one   Henricus   Rubeus — Arrigo   Rosso— who 


1 86  NOTES 

may  possibly  have  been  his  father;  and  in  the  Palatine  MS. 
this  piece  is,  says  Casini,  attributed  to  Rosso  da  Messina.  The 
present  poem  has  nothing  very  original  about  it,  but  the 
commonplaces  are  nicely  expressed,  and  the  rhythm  is  agree- 
able. The  stanzas  are  of  ten  lines  each,  i,  3,  4,  6,  8,  9,  10 
being  of  eleven  syllables,  2,  5,  7  of  seven.  Rime-scheme : 
ABCABCDEED. 

Stanza  i,  1.  8.  moltipricar  :  the  change  of  /  to  r  after  a 
consonant  is  common  enough,  and  not  specially  Sicilian.  We 
have  frequently  had  ubbriare,  '  to  forget ',  from  Lat.  oblitare, 
a  late  word  formed  directly  from  oblitus.  Another  good  in- 
stance is  assemprare  {Inf.  xxiv.  4)  from  adexemplare. 

Stanza  3,  1.  8.  convita:  V.R.V.  reads  cinvita,  which 
modern  editors  have  followed,  putting  an  apostrophe  after  the 
c;  but  it  is  difficult  to  see  the  force  of  ci  in  this  collocation. 
Convitare  strictly  means  '  to  invite  to  a  feast  (convictus) ',  but 
it  seems  soon  to  have  been  treated  as  if  connected  with  in- 
vitare.  The  false  concord,  however,  shows  that  there  is  some- 
thing wrong  about  the  reading  of  this  line.  Val.  boldly  reads 
la  vostra  belleza,  while  the  Pal.  MS.  reads  convitan  and  destroys 
the  structure  of  the  verse. 

11.  9,  10.     Here  calamita  is  distinctly  the  loadstone. 

Stanza  5, 1.  3.  snamorare  :  disinamorare. 

11.  4-6.    Cf.  No.  XIX,  St.  3,  11.  10,  II. 

11.  8,  9.  V.R.V.  reads  :  inuostra  potestate,  agiatene  alchuna 
pietate.  I  suggest  the  insertion  of  the  words  in  brackets  as  an 
attempt  to  save  the  metre. 


XXV. 

The  stanzas  are  of  eighteen  lines :  1  trochaic  of  eight 
syllables,  14,  15,  18  of  eleven,  the  remainder  of  seven.  Rime- 
scheme  :  ABABCABABCCDDDEDDE.  The  same  rimes  are 
kept  in  each  stanza. 

Stanza  i,  1.  1.  Compared  with  the  first  lines  of  the  second 
and  third  stanzas,  this  is  a  syllable  short ;  symmetry  may  be 
restored  by  writing  eo  after  b. 

L  4.  divisare.     See  note,  No.  I,  St.  1, 1.  4. 


NOTES  187 

I.  6.  acatato  :  '  purchased '.  accattare,  Fr.  acheter,  from  Lat. 
adcaptare.  Dante  uses  the  word  once,  Inf.  xi.  84.  Boccaccio 
has  it  in  the  sense  of  '  to  borrow ',  which  Acharisio  seems  to 
regard  as  the  original  meaning ;  but  this  can  hardly  be  correct. 

11-  11  — 18.    A  pretty  image,  prettily  expressed. 

I.  17.  immantenente:  Fr.  maintenant,  from  which  the 
Italian  word  was  possibly  taken ;  it  seems  to  have  fallen  out 
of  use  by  the  next  century. 

Stanza  2,  1.  1.  mi  son  adato :  addarsi  is  used  by  Dante 
(Purg.  xxi.  12)  in  the  sense  of 'to  take  notice'.  The  original 
meaning  must  have  been  '  to  apply  oneself  to '.  Acharisio  gives 
no  later  instance  of  its  use. 

II.  11-18.  '  I  believed  that  you  were  wrought  more  finely  than 
jacinth ;  now  I  see  that  your  hue  is  undoubtedly  that  of  glass 
which  skilled  craftsmen  make  to  counterfeit  the  handicraft.' — 
assetamenti  seems  here  to  have  what  Diez  (who  derives  it 
from  sectare)  takes  to  be  its  original  meaning  of  '  a  cutting ', 
or  'carving',  lavore  is  not  uncommonly  used  in  the  sense  of 
wrought  work,  as  of  a  carved  gem,  opposed  to  molten  glass. 

Stanza  3,  1.  7.  One  syllable  short.  Possibly  here  also  eo 
should  be  inserted  before  audo. 

1.  18.  richiamore  seems  to  be  a  substantive  formed  from 
richiamare  ;  almost  in  the  sense  of  '  repentance '. 


XXVI. 

Prezivalle  Doria,  a  member  apparently  of  the  great  Genoese 
house  of  that  name,  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable 
mark  in  his  day.  According  to  Monaci  he  was  successively 
Podesta  of  Avignon  and  Parma,  Vicar  to  Manfred  in  the  March 
of  Ancona,  at  Rome,  and  at  Spoleto,  and  lost  his  life  by  drown- 
ing in  the  river  Nera  in  1264.  He  thus  belongs  to  the  group 
of  poets  who  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  Val.  and  Nan.  ascribe  this  poem  to  Semprebene  of 
Bologna.  They  make  four  stanzas  of  it,  of  which  only  the 
first  two  agree  with  the  version  here  given.  The  stanzas 
are  of  eleven  lines,  all  of  eleven  syllables  except  the  seventh 
(which  is  pentasyllabic).    Rime-scheme  :  AaBAaBCCDDEeFF. 


1 88  NOTES 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Prezivalle, though  a  Genoese,  is  not  afraid 
of  the  Sicilian  rime  e  =  i ;  it  may  be  that  his  residence  in  Apulia 
familiarized  him  with  it,  in  which  case  this  poem  would  have 
been  written  in  the  later  part  of  his  life. 

Stanza  i,  1.  3.  latino  was  used  at  an  early  date  to  denote 
every  man's  language  when  he  was  born.  Hence,  both  in 
Italian  and  Provencal,  it  was  transferred  even  to  the  song  of 
birds.  In  the  Ballata  somewhat  doubtfully  ascribed  to  Dante, 
Fresca  rosa  novella  (Oxford  Dante,  p.  177),  we  find  the  lines 
'  E  cantinne  gli  augelli,  ciascuno  in  suo  latino  ',  and  this  mean- 
ing too  we  get  in  Eng.  latiner  or  latimer,  *  an  interpreter '. 

Stanza  3,  1.  2.  sotrasse  seems  here  to  be  intransitive,  as 
we  might  say  '  withdrew  '  or  *  withdrew  itself,  sc. '  from  me'. 

11.  3,  4.  Here  again  we  have  the  plurals  adorneze  and  belleze 
used  as  singulars. 

1.  7.    I  have  inserted  ben,  metri  gratia. 


XXVII. 

All  that  is  known  of  Folcalchieri  —  thus  the  Vat.  MS.  writes 
the  name— amounts  to  no  more  than  an  occasional  reference  in 
the  archives  of  Siena.  He  appears  to  have  been  dead  by  1260. 
The  form  of  the  name  as  given  in  the  MS.  seems  to  suggest  that 
the  family  came  from  Forcalquier  in  Provence :  at  any  rate  it 
is  difficult  to  see  any  Italian  etymology  for  the  name.  If  his 
Christian  name  was  Folcalchiero,  the  evidence  for  which  does 
not  appear,  unless  it  be  in  the  documents  referred  to  by  Monaci, 
the  place-name  must  in  the  course  of  generations  have  been 
converted  into  a  Christian  name. 

The  present  poem  appears  to  be  the  only  one  of  Folcalchieri's 
compositions  that  has  been  preserved.  The  theme  is  of  course 
a  commonplace  ;  but  there  is  a  fine  rush  of  passion  in  it,  which 
seems  to  suggest  that  it  may  have  been  something  more  than 
a  mere  exercise  in  amatory  poetry.  The  stanzas  are  of  ten  lines; 
1,  2,  4,  5,  10  of  eleven  syllables :  the  others  of  seven.  Rime- 
scheme  :  ABCABCDEDeF.  The  same  F-rime  recurs  at  the 
end  of  each  stanza,  while  the  others  vary. 

Stanza  i,  1.  1.    Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  date  the 


NOTES  189 

poem  by  this  line,  but  it  is  probably  only  another  expression 
similar  to  that  in  No.  XI,  St.  5.  The  most  we  can  infer  from  it 
is  that  there  was  no  Crusade  on  hand  at  the  moment. 

11.  7,  9.  Casini  notices  that  the  rime  of  these  two  lines  is 
irregular,  presumably  because,  unlike  the  equivalent  lines  in 
the  other  stanzas,  they  end  with  the  same  rime  as  1.  10. 

Stanza  2, 11.  2  and  5.  As  Nan.  observes,  the  repetition  of 
parlando  as  a  rime  to  itself  in  the  same  sense  is  irregular, 
though  perhaps  not  unexampled.  He  tries  to  save  the  situation 
by  taking  the  first  to  mean  '  speaking  openly ',  the  second 
'speaking  covertly',  but  this  seems  weak.  Yet  no  obvious 
emendation  suggests  itself. 

1.  9.  mort'  e  :  Vat.  MS.  reads  forte  e,  '  is  hard  '.  The  slight 
change  to  mort'  e  gives  a  better  antithesis  and  can  be  frequently 
paralleled  in  the  early  poets. 

1.  10.  As  it  stands  in  the  MS.  this  line  lacks  a  syllable.  To 
rectify  this  I  suggest  the  insertion  of  nel.  There  is  no  difficulty 
about  dolori  as  singular. 

Stanza  3,1.  1 .  fenisco  . .  .  conenza  :  the  negative  accounts 
for  the  second  of  these  words  being  in  the  subjunctive  mood. 
Wiese  notes  the  subjunctive  in  -a  as  a  Genoese  form,  but  poets 
in  want  of  a  rime  did  not  always  confine  themselves  strictly  to 
their  own  local  forms. 

1.  4.  agenza  :  a  Prov.  word  ;  '  gives  pleasure '.  This  from 
gens.     See  note  to  No.  VI,  St.  4, 1.  5. 

1.  5.  sa  =  '  tastes ',  as  in  Par.  xvii.  58. — manicare  =  '  to  eat ', 
Lat.  mandncare,  earlier  form  of  mangiare. 

1.  7.  I  have  preferred  to  expand  the  nom  of  the  MS.  to  avoid 
the  hiatus  after  so  ;  but  possibly  we  may  regard  the  vowel  of 
so  as  sufficiently  stressed  to  be  safe  from  elision  before  a  follow- 
ing vowel. 

Stanza  4,  1.  1.  One  is  reminded  of  Virgil's  '  Nunc  scio  quid 
sit  amor ',  but  here  it  is  the  existence  and  not  merely  the  nature 
of  love  which  is  in  question. 

1.  2.  a  gia  a  giudicare  may  be  taken  as  almost  equivalent  to 
a  giudicato ;  the  present  of  the  verb,  with  an  adverb  of  past 
time,  would  be  a  survival  from  Latin. 

1.  6.    e  '1  terzo  is  very  puzzling ;  it  can  hardly  mean  anything 


i9o  NOTES 

but  '  the  third  part',  but  why  the  masculine  ?  Nannucci's  torlo 
has  no  warrant  and  his  explanation  is  futile.  Perhaps  the 
simplest  emendation  would  be  to  read  '  la  terza '.  '  Love  takes 
two  thirds  of  my  heart  and  leaves  only  one  to  my  lady.' 

Stanza  5, 11.  3-6.    Notice  tua  followed  by  vostra. 

1.  5.  MS.  has  senon  dituto  a/are  apiacere,  which  leaves 
the  line  a  syllable  short.  The  emendation  seems  obvious. 
Render  :  '  save  to  do  everything  to  do  her  pleasure  '. 

1.  10.  Again  there  is  a  syllable  short  in  the  MS.  The  inser- 
tion of  non  seems  not  only  excusable,  but  imperative,  since  the 
absence  of  any  outward  manifestation  of  the  consuming  passion 
is  a  regular  commonplace.— Casini  calls  attention  to  the  rime 
inciendo — amando.  If  any  one  is  scandalized  at  this  he  may 
conceive  the  poet  to  have  written  incando. 


XXVIII. 

This  and  the  four  following  pieces  are  by  members  of  a  Pisan 
group,  probably  a  little  junior  to  Mostacci,  but  still  before  the 
middle  of  the  century.  They  all  show  a  tendency  to  the  shorter 
line,  and  abound  in  Provencalisms.  Little  is  known  of  any  of 
them,  and  indeed  the  Pal.  and  Chig.  MSS.  assign  Tiberto's 
poems  to  Rinaldo  d'Aquino.  Monaci  finds  mention  in  Pisan 
archives  of  the  Galliziani  family.  In  the  present  piece  the 
stanzas  are  of  14  lines,  all  heptasyllabic.  Rime-scheme : 
ABC  ABC  DEEDDEED.  It  will  be  seen  that,  so  far  as  the 
rimes  go,  the  structure  is  that  of  an  inverted  sonnet,  with  the 
tercets  preceding  the  quatrains. 

Stanza  i,  1.  1.  Both  biasmare  and  lodare  are  often  used 
reflexively,  followed  by  di.    For  lodare  see  Inf.  ii.  74. 

11.  7,  8.  *  If  I  tune  myself  up  to  speak,  afterwards  the  string 
slackens.'  e  is  not  'and ',  but  is  used  as  in  No.  II,  St.  1, 1.  6, 
where  see  note. 

1.  9.  mi  stordo  :  '  I  become  stupid '.  Fr.  je  m'ttourdis.  The 
etymology  of  stordire  and  its  cognates  is  very  uncertain.  Diez 
is  inclined  to  adopt  a  view  that  we  must  look  for  it  to  tardus  = 
1  a  thrush ',  from  an  alleged  habit  of  these  birds  to  drop  stupefied 


NOTES  191 

off  the  branch  in  the  heat  of  the  day.  In  this  case  the  meaning 
1  to  deafen '  would  be  secondary.  The  word  does  not  appear  to 
be  Provencal. 

1.  1 3.  It  would  perhaps  be  better  to  read  dice  :  E  m'  accordo ; 
and  the  meaning  of  the  last  four  lines  would  be  :  '  I  make  a 
show  of  being  deaf  to  the  heart  that  says  to  me,  "  I  too  agree 
that  thou  shouldst  ask  for  kindness  ".'  The  notion  of  two  hearts 
dragging  in  different  directions  is  not  uncommon. 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.    mi  mente :  '  is  as  a  lie  to  me '. 

1.  2.     'ntenda  in  :  '  give  heed  to '. 

1.  3.    intenza  :  see  note  to  No.  X,  St.  2,  1.  10. 

1.  7.  Se  fai  :  the  Vat.  has  sefa  ;  Pal.,  which  Monaci  follows, 
hdiSffai.  But  the  correct  reading  is  obviously  sefb.  The  words 
of  the  '  other  heart '  end  with  the  previous  line. 

Stanza  3, 1.  4.  m'  adiviso :  possibly  a  lengthened  form  of 
m'  aviso,  '  purpose  ' ;  but  more  likely  =  divisare,  '  devise '. 

Stanza  4, 1.  5.  piu  :  Chig.  reads  fitir.  I  am  much  inclined 
to  think  that  we  ought  to  read  s'  io  lascio,  per  tardanza,  which 
departs  very  slightly  from  the  text  and  gives  a  much  better 
sense. 

1.  1 1.  Note  that  volglio  must  be  treated  as  a  monosyllable, 
though  written  in  full. 

Stanza  5,  1.  3.    '  That  I  may  be  given  heed  to  by  you.' 

1.  6.     conquiso  :  a  Fr.  form  used  by  Dante  in  Purg.  xxiii.  45. 

1.  8.  d'el :  so  Vat.  MS.  A.R.V.  and  Mon.  emend  to  ne  ;  but 
one  cannot  see  why  the  writer  should  have  wantonly  introduced 
an  exceptional  form  in  place  of  the  more  usual.  Note  that 
biasmare  is  here  transitive. 

Stanza  6, 11.  4,  5,  6.  If  we  keep  the  reading  manchesse  = 
manchezze  it  must  be  regarded  as  an  antithesis  to  plena  ;  '  such 
is  the  fullness  of  your  pleasantness,  that  it  restores  what  was 
lacking'.  But  it  is  perhaps  better  to  read  rendaitC  ancK1  esse, 
which  might  mean  that  '  it  also  gives  me  back  existence '. 
One  is  somewhat  tempted  to  think  that  there  may  be  allusion 
to  Psalm  xvi.  12  (Vulg.  xv).  As  has  been  pointed  out,  these 
Scriptural  allusions  are  very  common  in  the  amatory  poetry  of 
this  time. 


192  NOTES 

XXIX. 

This  piece  is  attributed  by  the  Pal.  MS.  to  Ruggieri  d'Amici, 
and  by  the  Chig.  to  the  Notary. 

The  stanzas  are  of  nine  lines  :  3,  6,  8,  9  of  eleven  syllables,  the 
others  of  seven.    Rime-scheme  :  ABC  ABC  Cc  DD. 

Stanza  i,  1.  2.    'I  was  my  own  master.' 

1. 4.    tenore :  '  holding  ',  '  bondage  \ 

1.  8.    sagio  :  '  assay  ',  '  standard  '. 

Stanza  2, 1.  2.  mante  :  '  many ' ;  Fr.  maintes.  The  origin 
of  the  word  is  uncertain ;  it  seems  to  have  fallen  out  of  use 
before  Dante's  time.  Vat.  MS.  reads  ' emantene\  which  looks 
as  if  the  word  was  strange,  even  to  the  writer  of  1290  or 
thereabouts. 

1.  4.  fino:  the  editors  of  V.R.V.  state  that  the  first  three 
letters  of  the  word  are  blotted  in  the  MS.,  and  propose  to  read 
fino,  which  is  confirmed  by  the  Pal.  MS. 

1.  6.    benvolenza  :  in  its  literal  sense  of  '  good-will '. 

1.  7.  quella :  here  again  the  MS.  has  been  partly  obliterated, 
and  the  editors  suggest  quella.  — che:  the  general  relative. 
Three  hundred  years  ago  it  could  have  been  rendered  in  Eng- 
lish by  '  which  ' ;  now  this  form  is  confined  to  the  less  educated 
speech,  and  we  must  say  '  with  regard  to  whom '. 

1.  9.  ei  =  ebbi.  I  have  adopted  this  reading  from  Vat. 
instead  of  the  e  of  the  MS. 

Stanza  3, 11.  4-8.  '  Perhaps  she  would  have  some  pity  on 
me,  even  if  she  did  not  love  me  ;  so  much  pity  as  to  put  on  an 
appearance  of  joy.  It  would  not  look  well  for  her  if  I  died 
because  she  shuns  me.' 

Stanza  4, 11.  2  and  3.  '  She  does  welcome  and  honour  me, 
though  not  with  loving  intent.' 

1.  4.     stolle  :  Lat.  distollit :  takes  away. 

1. 6.    difesa  =  •  forbidden \ 

1.  7.  apresa  may  be  merely  the  participle  to  apprendere,  in 
which  case  the  meaning  will  be  very  similar  to  that  of  the  often- 
recurring  canosctente,  but  I  am  inclined  rather  to  take  it  as  from 
Pr.  presa,  •  esteemed ', '  prized '. 

Stanza  5, 1.  6.    morte :  MS.  molte.    The  emendation  seems 


NOTES  193 

obvious,  when   we   look  back  to  St.  3.—  guarentire  must  be 
taken  as  intransitive. 

XXX. 

Concerning  Gallo,  or  Galletto  of  Pisa,  we  have  a  few  notices. 
Dante  refers  to  him  ( V.  E.  i.  1 3)  in  company  with  Fra 
Guittone,  '  Brunetto  of  Florence,'  and  others,  as  among  the 
writers  '  whom  investigation  will  show  to  have  used  not  the 
courtly,  but  only  their  local  speech '.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
at  the  Council  of  Lyons  in  1275,  and  he  is  addressed  in  one  of 
Fra  Guittone's  poems.  This  poem  is  in  stanzas  of  twelve  lines, 
all  of  seven  syllables.  Rime-scheme  :  ABC  ABC  DDEFFE. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  rimes  are  all  on  similar  words  used  in 
different  senses.  Nos.  XXXI  (which  has  identical  rimes  with 
this)  and  XLIII  are  rimed  on  a  similar  principle.  All  may  be 
regarded  as  tours  de  force  in  imitation  of  the  Provencal  caras 
rimas. 

Stanza  1, 1.  5.  poco.  Monaci,  following  Pal.  and  Chig.,  reads 
loco,  which,  looking  to  St.  4,  1.  5,  is  probably  right.  Even  with 
this  reading,  however,  the  meaning  seems  hopelessly  obscure, 
and  further  emendation  needed.  Something  like  loco  non  evvi 
o  parte  might  meet  the  case.  The  meaning  would  seem  to  be 
'  I  was  brought  (where)  there  is  neither  definite  place,  nor  even 
district ',  somewhat  in  the  sense  of  the  Psalmist's  '  I  had  no 
place  to  flee  unto '. 

11.  10-12.  Cf.  Dante's  sonnet,  'Tanto  gentile,'  V.N.  §  xxvi, 
where  the  same  thought  is  expressed  in  more  stately  fashion. 

Stanza  2, 11.  1,  2.  For  the  use  of  poner  mente  as  if  the  two 
words  formed  one  transitive  verb,  we  may  compare  '  faro  aquisto 
due  cose '  in  No.  XXXII,  St.  5,  11.  3,  4. 

1.  3.  riso  =  '  rice '.  As  rice  was  not  grown  in  Italy  until 
1468,  this  must  refer  to  the  imported  grain,  which,  as  we  know 
from  Horace,  had  long  been  in  use  in  Europe. 

1.  8.  mi  dan  gola  :  '  make  me  greedy '.  Dante  uses  the  word 
in  the  same  sense  in  Par.  x.  in. 

1.  12.  miro  =  '  wonder'.  In  line  9  it  is  merely  'look' ;  the 
two  words  are  of  course  of  the  same  origin. 

Stanza  3,  1.  2.    roma,   probably  for  aroma.    A.R.V.  reads 

BUTLKR  O 


i94  NOTES 

donri  aroma,  from  a  supposed  verb  aromare.  It  might  be  better 
to  read  a  roma, '  has  a  fragrance'. 

1.  3.  It  might  be  better  to  put  a  comma  after  voi,  and  render 
bella  sia  by  •  fair  as  she  may  be '. 

1.  5.  ciercato :  for  this  active  use  of  the  past  participle,  see 
Diez,  iii,  p.  241.  It  is  found  in  writers  of  the  classical  period  of 
Italian. 

1.  11.  muto  :  apparently  =  'change',  as  we  also  use  it  of 
clothes. 

Stanza  4, 1.  3.    pe  =  pie. 

1.  5.     See  note  to  Stanza  1,1.  5. 

1.  6.  arcione  =  'saddle-bow ' ;  presumably  high  saddle-bows 
were  found  convenient  to  secure  the  rider  on  mountain  paths. 

L  7.    serra  =  '  rips '. 

1.  8.    serra  =  '  saws  '. 

1.  12.  'makes  me,  from  being  mountain,  become  plain',  i.e. 
'  brings  me  down  from  high  to  low  '. 

Stanza  5, 1.  2.    m'  a  mondo  :  '  has  cleansed  me '. 

1.  6.  saggio :  again  '  test',  or  '  standard  ',  as  in  No.  XXIX, 
St.  1, 1.  8. 

1. 10.    gallo  :  'pride  myself,  'swagger';  as  in  Purg.yi.  127. 

1.  II.  '  like  a  cock  partridge.'  Any  one  who  has  seen  the  airs 
of  these  birds  in  pairing-time  will  appreciate  the  simile.  There 
is  of  course  a  play  on  the  writer's  name. 

1. 12.    do  mat  to  :  '  I  give  check-mate'. 

XXXI. 

Of  Leonardo  del  Guallaco  we  seem  to  have  no  documentary 
notice ;  though  from  the  present  piece  it  is  obvious  that  he  was 
a  contemporary  of  Galletto,  and  therefore  of  Guittone.  As  has 
been  said,  the  structure  of  this  poem,  which  the  author  calls 
a  Sirventese,  is  identical  with  that  of  the  last,  even  the  rime- 
endings  being  line  for  line  the  same.  Some  one  has,  however, 
appended  one  additional  stanza,  summing  up  the  writer's  point 
of  view,  which  is  that  it  is  best  to  keep  free  from  the  entangle- 
ments of  love.  The  poem  is  preserved  in  the  Laurentian  (Redi) 
and  Pal.  MSS. 


NOTES  195 

Stanza  i,  1.  1.  nasso  =  'net'.  Ger.  netz.  Doubtless,  as 
has  been  said  in  a  note  to  No.  VIII,  the  Germans  of  Frederick's 
court  must  have  introduced  many  German  words  which  after- 
wards fell  out  of  use. 

1.  4.    '  they  (the  women)  throw  something  worse  than  a  noose.' 

1.  8.    non  conservo  :  '  I  do  not  take  service '. 

1.  9.    fe  parlar  d'  aviso  :  '  talked  about  what  he  knew  '. 

I.  10.  piagiente  :  this  epithet,  usually  reserved  for  the  ladies, 
has  a  somewhat  comic  effect  when  applied  to  Solomon. 

II.  11,  12.  The  place  of  Solomon  in  the  next  world  was 
a  question  of  no  small  interest  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Dante 
alludes  to  it  {Par.  x.  ill,  112),  but  gives  him  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt.  Petrarch,  in  the  Trionfi,  probably  from  a  spirit  of  con- 
tradiction to  Dante,  takes  the  other  view. — 1.  12.  paraviso  = 
paradise  Paravisus  for  paradisus  has  been  preserved  in  our 
word  parvts,  the  enclosed  space  in  front  of  a  church.  (The  use 
of  the  word  to  denote  a  chamber  over  the  porch  seems  to  be 
erroneous.) 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.    scritto:  cf.  Inf.  xix.  54. 
1.2.    treciera:  'treacherous';  Prov.  trichaire. 
1.  5.    leciera  :  'a  wanton'. 

1.  7.  pargola :  '  a  girl ' ;  Lat.  parvula.  Used  here  in  a 
depreciatory  sense,  as  pargoletta  in  Purg.  xxxi.  59. 

I.  9.  T  amiro:  I  can  make  nothing  of  this  word  ;  the  only 
suggestion  I  have  to  offer  is  that  it  may  be  a  shortened  form  of 
ammiralio,  'the  commander  of  the  ships'.  Curiously  enough, 
in  Aesch.^^-.  184,  Agamemnon  is  styled  'the  senior  commander 
of  the  Greek  ships ',  but  it  is  hard  to  see  how  the  Pisan  poet  can 
have  acquired  any  knowledge  of  this.  Still,  some  Greek  classical 
tags  seem  to  have  filtered  through  in  a  curious  way,  and  this 
may  be  one  of  them. 

II.  10,  11.  Between  the  meanings  of  membra  in  these  two 
lines  there  is  a  very  faint  shade  of  difference.  In  line  10  it 
appears  to  be  impersonal,  while  in  line  11  the  subject  would 
seem  to  be  Eva.  '  She  puts  all  others  out  of  my  thought.' 
With  line  10  cf.  Purg.  xxix.  24. 

Stanza  3, 1.  2.  paroma :  Crusca  does  not  recognize  the  word 
but  Baretti  explains  it  by  '  one  of  the  yard  ropes  of  a  ship ', 

o  2 


196  NOTES 

i.  e.  '  braces  \  The  Greek  napafils  is  used  by  LXX  to  indicate 
straps  or  bands  passing  down  from  the  corners  of  the  altar. 
The  literal  meaning  would  be  '  shoulder-straps '. 

11.  5,  6.  Here,  again,  the  allusion  is  obscure ;  unless  it  means 
that  a  man  in  love  loses  his  head  so  completely  that  when  he  is 
at  Rome  he  thinks  he  is  going  on  a  crusade. 

1L  7-12.  'As  for  the  reason  of  my  leaving  him  alone,  every 
man  is  what  he  is  wont  to  be  ;  I  do  not  take  the  point  off  this 
bit  of  wisdom,  and  I  do  not  swerve  from  it,  whether  in  verses  or 
anything  rimed  (?) :  this  is  evermore  my  aim.'  Such  I  conceive 
to  be  the  meaning  of  these  very  obscure  lines. — rimuto  for 
rimato  is  daring,  and  hardly  less  so  propunto  (by  a  false 
accidence)  for  proposito ;  but  until  an  adequate  grammar  of 
these  poets  is  produced  we  must  occasionally  be  content  with 
somewhat  wild  conjectures. 

Stanza  4,  1.  3.  palpe:  'pats'.  This  word,  again,  is  not 
recognized  by  the  dictionaries.  It  seems  to  have  been  formed 
backwards  from  palpare, 

11.  4-6.  These  lines  seem  hopelessly  obscure.  For  line  4 
V.R.V.  reads  '  chibuosena  rio  /alio  \  and  it  is  stated  that  the  0 
of  rio  is  barely  visible.  We  might  read  chi  bnon  senn'  d  rifallo  : 
'  he  who  has  a  good  wit  makes  it  up  again,  and,  when  it  is  all  in 
good  order,  lives  like  salpae  in  the  sea ',  i.  e.  '  roams  about  as 
he  pleases'.  The  salfia  here  referred  to  is  not  the  Ascidian 
known  by  that  name  to  modern  zoologists,  but  a  fish  of  no  great 
repute,  asserted  by  Pliny  (ix.  32)  to  require  beating  before  it 
could  be  cooked. 

1.  7.    serra :  as  before,  '  grips ', '  takes  hold '. 

1.  8.  serra :  mountain-ridge,  Sp.  sierra,  from  its  saw-like 
form. 

1.  10.    fer :  fere,  '  strikes '. 

1.  12.    amonte  :  the  meaning  of  this  word  is  obscure. 

Stanza  5, 1.  2.  Note  that  giglio  counts  for  a  monosyllable. 
The  allusion  in  these  lines  is  evidently  to  some  incident  in  one 
of  the  romances,  in  which  the  course  of  true  love  did  not  run 
smooth.  The  first  line,  '  the  light  of  day  was  darkened  to  the 
lovers,'  I  take  to  mean  that  their  fate  was  like  that  of  Paolo  and 
Francesca.    With  scura  compare  the  aer  fierso  of  Inf.  v.  89. 


NOTES  197 

Who  the  lovers  were  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover.  If  we 
keep  the  reading  of  the  text,  Gigliofiore  may  be  an  equivalent 
for  Fiordiligi ;  Asmondo  is  a  name  unknown  to  me  in  the 
Charlemagne  cycle.  My  colleague,  Prof.  Brandin,  suggests  to 
me  that  it  might  be  better  to  read  '  a  Giglia  e  a  Fioresmondo ' ; 
but  this  does  not  carry  us  any  further  towards  the  identification 
of  the  personages.  Still,  the  general  meaning  can  hardly  be 
mistaken. 

1.  3.    agio :  probably  here  •  I  have '. 

1.  6.  d'  amor  lo  saggio  :  '  how  love  turns  out '.  saggio  = 
'  test '  or  '  proof ',  as  elsewhere. 

1.  9.  auro  matto  seems  to  mean  unburnished  gold  (cf.  Ger. 
matt),  gold  that  is  unwrought  and  therefore  pure. 

I.  II.     'so  may  God  draw  him  from  evil.' — tragallo,  lo  traga. 

1.  12.  non  creda  a  vista:  like  ?ie  crede  colori. — matto,  in 
the  usual  sense  of  '  mad '. 

Stanza  6.  This  is  obviously  spurious :  it  corresponds  with 
nothing  in  the  poem  to  which  this  is  a  reply,  and  it  is  impossible 
that  anything  could  follow  the  comiato  or  envoi.  The  style, 
too,  is  very  different.  The  fact  of  its  occurrence  in  the  other 
two  MSS.  looks  as  if  these  were  not  wholly  independent  of  the 
Vatican.  Possibly  it  belongs  to  some  other  poem  on  similar 
lines,  and  was  transferred  to  this  by  some  scribe  who  thought  it 
formed  a  good  summary  of  the  general  drift  of  the  poem.  Line  3, 
too,  is  an  obvious  allusion  to  No.  XXIX,  St.  1,  1.  2. 

1.  4.    terzoletto  :  '  tercelet ',  the  young  male  falcon. 

1.  8.     m'  e  mestieri :  '  is  necessary  to  me '. 

XXXII. 

Of  Betto  Mettifucco  no  record  seems  to  exist,  nor  has  any 
other  piece  of  his  been  preserved.  From  the  style  of  this  he 
may  be  judged  to  have  been  contemporary  with  the  earlier 
Pisans.  There  is  nothing  very  remarkable  about  the  piece,  but 
it  expresses,  rather  gracefully,  the  usual  commonplaces.  The 
stanza  is  of  sixteen  lines,  4,  8,  12,  16  being  of  eleven  syllables, 
the  rest  of  seven.     Rime-scheme :  ABCDABCDEEFfGHHIiG. 

Stanza  i,  1.  10.    contezza:  'kindliness',  or  'delicacy';  so 


198  NOTES 

Matteo  di  Dino  Frescobaldi,  'Leggiadra  se',  vezzosa,  conta  e 
bella,  e  di  virtu  fiorita'.  Also  probably  the  ' saette  conte'  of 
Purg.  ii.  67.     See  my  glossary  to  Purg.,  s.v.  conto. 

1.  12.  contanza:  A.R.V.  acontansa.  aconta  is  used  by 
Petrarch  and  Boccaccio  in  the  sense  of  '  to  make  acquaintance 
with ',  •  accost '.  Dante  prefers  the  form  contezza,  equally  but 
more  directly  from  Latin  cognitus. 

Stanza  2, 1.  8.    rafino :  see  note  to  No.  XVIII,  St.  1,  I.  2. 

Stanza  3, 1.  3.  auso :  probably  =  oso,  but  it  is  possible  that 
it  may  be  from  the  other  ausare  =  '  to  be  used '. — Note  again 
the  inability  or  unwillingness  to  reveal  the  secret  flame. 

1.  8.  aiuto:  this  is  the  reading  of  the  MS.  A.R.V.  reads 
aiuta,  taking  viso  as  the  subject,  but  the  meaning  seems  to  be, 
*  If  I  do  not  do  something  for  myself,  I  do  not  think  I  shall 
escape  the  face  for  which,'  &c— lazioso:  the  more  usual  form 
is  lezioso,  probably  shortened  for  delizioso. 

I.  10.  smiro :  the  s  seems  to  have  no  particular  force,  any 
more  than  in  sgaardo  for  guardo. 

Stanza  4,  1.  2.  Unless  we  are,  very  exceptionally,  to  read 
mia  as  a  dissyllable,  one  syllable  would  seem  to  be  missing  in 
this  line. — natura  gives  no  very  satisfactory  sense ;  what  we 
want  is  some  word  implying  ■  service '  or  '  devotion '. 

II.  3-12.  Again  the  favourite  example  of  reckless  devotion  in 
the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  and  his  assassins. 

1.  6.  MS.  has  passa  in,  which  again  leaves  the  line  a  syllable 
short.  The  subjunctive  would  be  more  idiomatic,  but  an  even 
simpler  emendation  would  be  to  read  passar. 

1.  7.     latino  :  as  in  Par.  iii.  63.  See  note  No.  XXVI,  St.  1 , 1.  3. 

I.  10.  in  bel  verdero:  '  in  his  fair  pleasance'.  MS.  has  in 
del.  verdero :  Lat.  viridarium ;  the  other  form,  vergiero, 
Fr.  verger,  representing  viridiarium. 

II.  9-12  indicate  the  effects  of  the  Hashish  with  which  the 
1  Assassins '  were  drugged. 

Stanza  5,  11.  3,  4.  Note  that  faro  aquisto  is  treated  as  a 
single  transitive  verb.    See  note  to  No.  XXX,  St.  2, 1.  1. 

I.  4.    fallo  =  ' blunder'. 

II.  7,  8.  '  In  a  place  where  the  Creator  put  together  so  many 
beauties  that  they  surpassed  those  of  others.'     Oltragio  has 


NOTES  199 

here  its  primary  meaning  of '  surpassing '  or  '  supsereding ',  from 
which  that  of  '  injuring ', '  outraging ',  easily  comes.  In  Purg. 
ii.  94,  '  nessun  m'  e  fatto  oltraggio,'  we  find  the  word  in  a  transi- 
tion stage  :  '  nothing  beyond  what  happens  to  others,  and  so  no 
injury '. 

XXXIII. 

Odo  delle  Colonne  is  just  a  tangible  figure.  He  can  hardly 
have  been  the  brother  of  the  judge  Guido,  but  was  undoubtedly 
a  member  of  the  same  great  family,  and  may  quite  possibly  have 
held  office  under  Frederick  at  Messina.  In  Boniface  VI II's  Bull 
of  1297,  in  which  he  appears  in  company  with  '  the  Roman 
Emperor  Frederick  of  accursed  memory',  he  is  stated,  says 
Monaci,  to  have  been  dead  forty  years.  In  V.R.V.  the  two 
poems  of  his  which  are  preserved  stand  between  those  of  the 
Notary  and  Rinaldo  d'Aquino,  so  that  he  probably  belongs  to 
the  earliest  group.  The  present  piece,  it  will  be  seen,  is  put  into 
the  mouth,  not  of  the  lover,  as  usual,  but  of  a  forlorn  lady.  The 
stanzas  are  of  twelve  lines,  all  of  seven  syllables.  The  rime- 
scheme  is  very  simple :  ABABABCDCDCD. 

Stanza  1, 1.3.  fiata:  note  that  this  word  is  of  three  syllables  ; 
the  i  does  not  represent  a  Latin  /,  but  is  original,  whether  the 
word  be,  as  Diez  thinks,  a  derivative  of  via  or  represents  a  Latin 
vicata  from  vices  —  '  turns '.  In  Dante  it  is  nearly  always  three 
syllables  ;  indeed,  where  it  is  not,  the  text  is  probably  doubtful. 
Later,  with  Petrarch  and  others,  it  seems  to  have  been  treated 
as  the  exigencies  of  metre  might  require. 

1.6.  guernita  =' furnished ',  'fitted  out';  from  a  Teutonic 
root  meaning  '  to  take  heed  for ',  whence  also  our  *  warn ' ; 
'  garnish '  is  another  variety  of  the  same  word  through  the  French. 

1.  8.     Note  the  accent  thrown  back  for  the  sake  of  the  rime. 

Stanza  2, 1. 1 .  tapinella  :  '  wretched '.  tapino,  from  ranuvos, 
is  one  of  the  few  Greek  words  preserved  in  Italian. 

1.  4.     conquisa:  see  note  to  No.  XXVIII,  St.  5,  1.  6. 

1.  10.     acorre  morte  :  cf.  Inf.  xiii.  118. 

Stanza  3,  1.  2.  in  cielato :  the  regular  phrase  for  lovers' 
stolen  meetings. 

1.  8.     scanoscienza  :  almost  '  discourtesy  '. 


200  NOTES 

1.  10.  intenza:  apparently 'disputes'.  See  note  to  No.  X, 
St.  2, 1.  10. 

Stanza  4, 1.  2.    tra  :  imperative  of  trarre. 

1.  5.  che  :  again  the  indefinite  relative.  Che  lo  suo  =  lo  cui, 
but  with  a  slight  suggestion  of  ■  the  reason  why '. 

J.  9.  cangiata:  there  seems  nothing  except  the  needs  of 
rime  to  account  for  this  false  concord,  or  for  the  feminine  dura 
in  the  next  line.  Of  course  one  might  get  over  the  difficulty  by 
reading  '  la  conn'  a  (or  ?)  cangiata  \     MS.  has  '  ora  locore '. 

Stanza  5,  11.  5-8.  A  somewhat  amusing  touch  about  the 
tenderness  towards  the  lover  and  the  ferocity  to  the  supposed 
rival. 

1.  12.    gallo  :  cf.  note  to  No.  XXX,  St.  5, 1.  10. 


XXXIV. 

Ruggierone  of  Palermo  is  only  known  to  us  by  the  ascription 
to  him  of  two  poems  in  the  Vatican  MS.,  and  in  the  Palatine, 
and  even  one  of  these,  that  here  given,  is  assigned  to  Re  Federigo, 
probably  the  Sicilian  king  of  that  name.  The  stanzas  of  this 
poem  are  of  ten  lines,  1,  2,  4,  5  of  seven  syllables,  the  rest  of 
ten.  Rime-scheme :  ABCABCDDEE.  The  verses  purport  to 
be  written  by  a  Crusader  for  transmission  to  his  lady  at  home. 

Stanza  2,  11.  1,  3.  Cf.  note  to  No.  XXVII,  St.  1,  1.  5  — 
vio  =  veggio.  The  MS.  has  via,  and  in  line  4  desia,  but  the 
subjunctive  seems  unnecessary. 

1.  4    It  would  probably  be  better  to  omit  e. 

1.  6.  riso  e  gioco :  frequently  coupled,  as  in  the  last  piece, 
St.  2, 1.  6. 

1.  7.  sengnamente:  see  note  to  No.  II,  St.  4, 1.  6.  Perhaps 
'  accomplishment '  would  render  the  word  here.  It  seems  un- 
certain whether  it  is  singular  or  plural,  ente  might  stand  for 
either  ento  or  enti.  If  we  take  it  as  plural  we  ought  probably, 
with  Monaci,  to  read  suo. 

1.  9.  disdotto  :  '  diversion  ', '  amusement '.  From  Latin  dis- 
ducere  -»  '  to  lead  away ',  that  is,  '  from  the  business  of  life ' ; 
'  divert ', '  distract '  convey  a  similar  idea.    The  word  is  probably 


NOTES  201 

borrowed  from  French  dedicit.  It  does  not  seem  to  have  become 
incorporated  in  Italian.  In  Provencal  desduire  is  used  by  Giraut 
de  Bornelh  in  the  poem  Si  per  mon  Sobretotz ;  but  Gloss.  Occ. 
does  not  recognize  it.  (Dedurre,  as  in  Par.  viii.  121.  Fr. 
d/duz're=' to  deduce'  is  from  Latin  didiccere,  and  is  altogether 
a  different  word.) 

Stanza  3, 1.  1.    Omitted  by  Allacci. 

1.  4.     acatto.     See  note  to  No.  XXV,  St.  1,  I.  6. 

1.  9.  atassa  :  a  word  of  doubtful  signification  and  rare  occur- 
rence. It  occurs  in  a  poem  ascribed  to  Guido  Guinizelli,  Contra 
lo  meo  volere,  where  Val.  interprets  it  by  '  troubles  ',  a  meaning 
it  will  equally  well  bear  here,  but  this  of  course  is  only  a  mere 
'  shot '  from  the  context. 

Stanza  4,1.  2.  MS.  valafiore  disoria,  'go  to  the  flower  of 
Syria'.  But  this  is  clearly  wrong;  the  poem  is  obviously 
addressed  to  a  lady  at  home,  and  not  to  any  '  flower  of  Syria '. 
The  alteration  of  one  letter  which  I  have  made  restores  the 
right  sense. 

1.  10.     degia  :  '  may  deem  it  her  duty  '. 


XXXV. 

The  stanzas  are  of  fifteen  lines,  I,  2,  3,  5,  6,  7  being  of  seven 
syllables,  13  of  five,  and  the  rest  of  eleven.  Rime-scheme : 
ABBC  ABBC  DDEEEFF.     In  Stanza  3,  line  9  is  missing. 

Stanza  1, 1.  1.  This  line  occurs  also  in  No.  XXIII  as  the 
first  of  the  fourth  stanza. 

Stanza  2,  1.  i.  manti:  All.  has  inatiti.  The  readings  will 
of  course  be  practically  indistinguishable  in  MS. 

Stanza  3, 1.  5.  s'adastia.  This  adastiare  appears  to  be  of 
Teutonic  origin  and  akin  to  our  *  haste '  (see  Diez,  s.v.  astiu)  ; 
distinct  from  a  similar  verb  from  astio  {Purg.  vi.  20),  '  hatred  ', 
'  envy '.  Only  the  second  sense  seems  to  be  recognized  by 
Crusca ;  but  the  two  have  obviously  a  tendency  to  blend.  Thus 
in  the  Italian  version  of  Brunetti's  Trfcor  (vii.  yj)  adastiano  is 
used  to  represent  the  estrivoient  of  the  original  (No.  III.  ii, 
ch.  72),  where  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  '  vie'  or  'strive  '  be  the 
precise  meaning  implied  by  the  words. 


202  NOTES 

1.  9.  As  mentioned  above,  a  line  has  evidently  dropped  out 
here,  leaving  speranza  without  a  rime ;  a  fact  which  seems  to 
have  escaped  the  notice  of  all  the  editors. 


XXXVI. 

This  anonymous  little  poem,  simple  and  pathetic  as  it  is, 
though  not  on  a  level  with  the  beautiful  threnody  of  Giaco- 
mino  Pugliese  (No.  XIV),  has  much  of  the  same  sincerity  of 
sorrow.  In  this  case  it  is  the  lady  who  mourns  for  a  lost  lover. 
He  appears  to  be  no  imaginary  person,  but  lord  of  the  little  terri- 
tory of  Scarlino  in  the  Tuscan  Maremma.  The  stanzas  are  of 
nine  lines,  1,  3,  5,  6,  8  being  of  eight  syllables,  and  therefore 
trochaic,  2, 4,  7,  9  of  the  ordinary  iambic  hendecasyllables.  The 
rhythm  is  very  nearly  that  of '  Who  is  Sylvia ',  but  can  be  more 
closely  indicated  by  a  rough  rendering : — 

Ruthless  death,  thou  fierce  destroyer, 

All  blame  thou  sure  deservest. 

Rime-scheme:  ABABCCDCD. 

Stanza  i,  I.  5.  Con  ti  facca:  this  is  the  reading  of  the  MS., 
and  seems  to  mean  'keep  yourself  to  yourself.  The  variant 
suggested  in  the  footnote  seems  to  make  the  sense  run  some- 
what easier. 

Stanza  2, 1.  3.     diporto  :  '  pleasure ',  '  entertainment '. 

Stanza  3, 1.  1.    micidera  :  '  homicide '. 

I.  3.  me  :  notice  the  hiatus  before  e.  Perhaps  we  should 
read  meve. 

II.  8,  9.    Cf.  Chaucer's  Knight  :— 

He  never  yet  no  vilanie  ne  sayde 
In  alle  his  lif,  unto  no  manere  wight. 

Stanza  4, 1.  4.  fe :  MS.  faciea,  which  gives  the  line  a  syl- 
lable too  many.— soperchianza  =  '  overbearing '. 

1.  5.    piano :  probably  =  '  accessible  '. 

Stanza  5,  1.  2.  colonna  maremmana :  Casini  says  that 
the  reference  is  to  Colonna  di  Buriano,  a  small  town  a  little 
north  of  Grosseto,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  which  we  may 
suppose  that  Baldo  caught  his  death. 


NOTES  203 

1.  8.  Monaci  retains  the  gientile  of  the  MS.,  but  it  destroys 
the  metre,  and  I  have  followed  A.R.V.  in  omitting  it. 

XXXVII. 

This  poem  (which  Val.  assigns  to  Guido  delle  Colonne)  has 
no  special  merit,  save  a  certain  simplicity  and  elegance  of  diction, 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  many  others  on  the  same  theme. 
The  stanzas,  in  number,  as  usual,  five,  are  of  ten  lines,  all  save 
7,  8,  9  being  of  eleven  syllables.  These  three  are  of  seven. 
Rime-scheme  :  ABABABCDCcD. 

Stanza  1, 1.  3.  The  syntax  of  this  line  is  somewhat  curious  : 
distrugo  is  intransitive,  '  I  waste  away,'  but  presently  it  has  to 
be  understood  in  the  transitive  sense,  after  foco. 

1.  7.     MS.  mabene.     The  ma  must  clearly  be  omitted. 

Stanza  2, 1.  4.    alapidato  :  '  stony'. 

1.  5.     lasasse  =  lasciasse. 

1.  7.  a  Deo :  the  use  of  a  is  somewhat  curious  ;  as  it  were, 
'  at  God '. 

1.  8.  chi .  .  .  dar.  Wiese  (Part  III,  Section  124)  gives  an 
instance  from  Guido  Fava  of  this  construction,  infinitive  with 
relative,  but  desires  corroboration  of  it.  This  passage  may 
supply  it. 

1.  9.  accaduto :  a  note  in  V.R.V.  says  that  an  erasure  has 
obliterated  about  eight  letters  before  to.  Val.  reads  ismarruto, 
a  doubtful  form.     The  suggestion  in  the  text  seems  simpler. 

1.  10.  MS.  '  evenuto  neseno  amale  fiortto  '.  A.R.V.  omits 
e  venuto.  It  might  be  better  to  read  e  ne  venuto  sono,  to  keep 
the  internal  rime  in  its  proper  place. 

Stanza  3,  1.  4.  goleato :  goleare,  see  note  to  No.  XXX, 
St.  2,  1.  8. 

1.  10.  riditto :  V.R.V.  ditto.  A.R.V.,  following  Val.,  de- 
litto.  riditto  in  the  sense  of '  no  need  to  say  it  twice ',  or  possibly 
'  without  contradiction '. 

Stanza  4, 1.  2.  Note  Dio  thrown  in  as  a  kind  of  expletive. 
Exactly  equivalent  to  our  use  of  '  the  deuce'. — chi .  .  .  con- 
sigliare  :  construction  again  as  in  St.  2,  I.  8. 

1.  7.  se  non  seems  to  be  treated  as  one  syllable,  perhaps 
pronounced  sen. 


2o4  NOTES 

1.  9.     tenore :  probably  '  bondage  '  as  in  No.  XXIX,  St.  1 , 1.  4. 

Stanza  5, 1.  1.  novella:  a  favourite  epithet  applied  to  an 
ode  which  the  poet  is  sending  forth,  especially  in  the  poets 
towards  the  end  of  the  century. 


XXXVIII. 

This  anonymous  piece  again  expresses  in  an  elegant  form  the 
usual  commonplaces.  From  the  smoother  style  and  less  archaic 
diction  we  may  suppose  it  to  have  been  written,  or  at  least 
re-edited,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  century.  The  stanza  is 
almost  identical  with  that  of  No.  XXXIV,  with  one  difference, 
which  will  be  noted  in  the  rime-scheme.  This  is  as  follows : 
ABCABCCDEE.  It  will  be  observed  that  D  has  no  corre- 
sponding rime,  a  feature  almost  or  quite  unique  in  these  poems. 
A  remarkable  feature  is  the  devotional  tone  of  the  whole. 

Stanza  1,  1.  1.  It  will  be  observed  that  this  line  corresponds 
very  closely  with  the  opening  of  Guido  Guinizelli's  ode  (No.  LXI) 
as  this  is  given  in  the  Vat.  MS.  The  reading  of  the  MS., 
however,  differs  from  that  of  V.  E.  i.  15,  where  it  is  quoted  by 
Dante,  so  that  there  can  be  no  reason  to  suppose,  as  some 
have  done,  that  the  present  piece  should  be  ascribed  to  Guini- 
zelli.  In  some  respects,  indeed,  it  more  resembles  Guittone.  In 
V.  E.  ii.  12,  where  Dante  quotes  it  again,  he  appears  to  ascribe 
it  to  Guido  Ghisilieri. 

1.  2.  compreso :  one  is  rather  tempted  to  suggest  conqaiso, 
as  corresponding  better  with  donato  in  the  next  line. 

I.  6.  melglio  here,  and  in  St.  3,  scanned  as  a  dissyllable, 
points  somewhat  to  the  later  date  of  the  poem. 

II.  9,  10.  Note  the  obvious  devotional  allusion  in  magniflcato 
and  coronato. 

Stanza  2, 1. 3.  regnar  servire:  here  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  source  whence  this  expression  is  taken.  The  words  occur 
in  our  Prayer-book  in  the  second  Collect  at  Morning  Prayer,  in 
the  form  '  Whose  service  is  perfect  freedom '.  But  in  the  Latin 
original,  ascribed  to  Gelasius  (fifth  cent.  A.D.),  the  form  is  '  cui 
servire  regnare  est '. 

1.  9.    d'  ogni  grazia  .  . .  compiuta.     Here,  again,  an  obvious 


NOTES  205 

allusion  to  gratia  plena. — vertu  :  not  '  virtue  '  in  our  sense,  but 
more  nearly  '  power ',  as  in  Inf.  ii.  76. — compiuta  must  be  read 
compita  for  the  rime's  sake. 

Stanza  3,  1.  4.  assembro  :  '  liken ',  '  compare ' ;  from  Latin 
assemplare,  for  exemplare  =  t.o  copy.     See  Inf.  xxiv.  4. 

1.  8.     See  Ps.  ciii  (Vulg.  cii),  verse  11. 

Stanza  4,  11.  2,  3.  'The  pain  of  love  seems  to  me  greater 
good  than  the  good  of  love.'     asembra  is  here  intransitive. 

1.  7.  sostene :  a  singular  verb,  after  two  or  more  substantives 
coupled  by  e,  is  common  in  Italian  at  least  down  to  the  sixteenth 
century.  Curiously  enough,  when  they  are  coupled  by  con  the 
verb  is  usually,  if  not  always,  plural. 

Stanza  5,  1.  6.  A  good  instance  of  the  way  in  which  the 
terms  of  feudalism  were  employed  to  express  the  relation 
between  the  lover  and  the  lady. 

1.  10.  'Your  vertu  in  deserving  love  is  greater  than  any  my 
love  can  have  in  serving  you.' 

XXXIX. 

This  poem,  again,  is  a  fair  exercise  on  the  usual  themes,  the 
spring-time,  inciting  to  sing  the  lady's  praises  and  the  lover's 
happiness.  It  probably  belongs  to  an  earlier  period  than  the 
last,  being  in  almost  the  earliest  and  simplest  form.  The  open- 
ing curiously  resembles  that  of  No.  LIV,  by  Bonagiunta  of 
Lucca,  but  this  need  not  imply  any  relation  between  the  two 
pieces,  the  imagery  being  part  of  the  regular  troubadour's  stock. 
The  stanzas  are  of  nine  lines,  all  short.  Rime-scheme : 
ABABCDDCA. 

Stanza  I,  1.  8.  cagiuoli  :  from  Latin  caveola,  with  gender 
changed.  Literally  '  cages ',  but  here  merely  cages  formed  by 
the  boughs  among  which  the  birds  sing. 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.  MS.  Spera  chemai  fireso.  This  appears  to 
give  neither  metre  nor  sense,  so  I  have  ventured  on  the  slight 
alteration  in  the  text. 

1.  3.     col  chiaro  viso.     See  note  to  No.  I,  St.  5, 1.  5. 

1.  8.  Morgana  :  Morgan  le  Fay,  known  to  all  readers  of  the 
Arthurian  Romances.  As  her  name  implies,  she  must  have 
been  of  Welsh  origin,  and  connected  with  the  sea. 


2o6  NOTES 

Stanza  3, 11.  5  sqq.    Cf.  No.  XVI II,  St.  3, 11.  5  sqq. 
Stanza  4, 1.  3.    intenza  :  see  note  to  No.  X,  St.  2, 1.  10. 

I.  4.  invia:  MS.  minvia.  A.R.V.,  retaining  this,  reads  sem- 
bian,  of  which  it  is  hard  to  see  the  meaning.  In  any  case  the 
passage  is  difficult ;  the  only  meaning  I  can  suggest  is,  '  The 
day  sets  me  thinking  more  of  her,  it  sends  her  likeness'. 

Stanza  5,  1.  4.  Unless  we  are  to  read  mio  for  suo,  amore 
must  have  the  sense  here  of  amante. 

Stanza  6, 1.  3.  d'  amore  clearly  cannot  stand.  The  emenda- 
tion I  have  suggested  in  a  note  saves  the  rime  and  gives  a  good 
sense.  (F  amore  is  exactly  what  a  scribe,  writing  perhaps  from 
memory,  would  almost  mechanically  give  after  novi  canti. 

II.  5,  6.  The  evil  speakers,  whom  the  lady  is  begged  not  to 
believe,  are  other  stock  personages  in  these  little  dramas.  See 
e.  g.  No.  XVI,  St.  3. 

Stanza  7, 1.  1.  Note  that  before  the  two  consonants  at  the 
beginning  of  the  next  word  Dio  is  two  syllables. 

11.  1-4.     Cf.  the  last  stanza  of  No.  XV. 

1.  4.  The  0  in  eramo  must  be  dropped,  since  leal  seems 
to  be  always  two  syllables,  though  in  bealo,  &c,  the  vowels  are 
usually  merged.  The  Lat.  legalis  would  sufficiently  account 
for  this. 

I.  6.  ispellamento :  none  of  the  dictionaries  seems  to  re- 
cognize spellare  or  any  of  its  compounds.  It  must  be  equiva- 
lent to  the  French  e'pder,  Pr.  espelar ;  the  original  signification 
of  which  seems  to  have  been  •  to  relate  ',  '  recount '.  Eng. 
'  spell'  in  both  senses  is  of  the  same  origin.  The  etymology  is 
Teutonic ;  cf.  Goth,  spillon  in  the  same  sense.  Here  it  might 
almost  be  rendered  by  '  converse  '. 

II.  8,  9.  '  May  he  be  taken  in  an  evil  noose,  and  condemned 
to  be  sawn  asunder.'  To  save  the  metre  in  the  last  line, 
D'Ancona  suggests  the  reading  giuggiato,  which  I  have  adopted 
in  the  text,  where  the  MS.  has  giudicato.  Possibly  we  should 
also  read  da  for  di. 

XL. 
As  I  have  said  elsewhere,  a  good  deal  more  ink  has  been  shed 
over  this  piece  than  its  intrinsic  merits  deserve.     In  A.R.V. 


NOTES  207 

Professors  D'Ancona  and  Comparetti  allot  214  pages  to  it  out 
of  the  532  of  which  their  first  volume  consists.  Others  have 
also  written  about  it  at  considerable  length.  It  was  first  printed 
in  a  fragmentary  state  by  Allacci,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  interest 
which  it  aroused  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  for 
some  time  regarded  as  the  earliest  extant  specimen  of  Italian 
poetry.  The  first  edition  of  D.  G.  Rossetti's  work,  best  known 
as  Dante  and  his  Circle,  appeared,  as  will  be  remembered, 
under  the  title  The  Early  Italian  Poets  from  Ciullo  d'Alcamo 
to  Dante  Alighieri.  Rossetti's  translation,  it  may  be  observed, 
though  spirited,  is  very  far  from  accurate.  When  the  poem 
came  to  be  more  studied,  certain  allusions,  which  will  be  noted 
presently,  proved  that  its  date  could  not  be  much  antecedent  to 
1 240 ;  so  that  it  was  preceded  by  several  of  the  pieces  in  the 
present  selection  ;  nor  indeed  should  I  have  included  it,  were  it 
not  that  Dante  did  it  the  honour  of  quoting  its  third  line,  as 
a  specimen  of  the  vulgar  Sicilian  language,  in  V.  E.  i.  12. 
Indeed,  it  bears  many  traces  of  courtly,  or  at  least  artificial, 
origin.  It  has  few  merits,  save  a  swinging  rhythm,  and  in 
places  a  certain  coarse  humour.  It  is  in  no  sense  a  canzone, 
but  rather  what  is  known  as  a  contrasto  :  an  amoebaean  dialogue 
between  the  lover  and  the  lady,  the  former  (whom  sundry 
Italian  commentators  treat  as  though  he  were  identical  with 
the  author,  and  speak  of  as  '  Ciullo ',  or,  in  the  more  recent 
version  of  the  name,  '  Cielo ')  being  represented  as  a  roving 
vagabond,  who  pays  his  addresses  to  the  lady.  She  treats  him 
at  first  with  disdain,  but  meets  with  the  usual  fate  of  the  woman 
who  deliberates.  The  piece  is  obviously  entirely  dramatic,  and 
no  inference  whatever  can  be  drawn  from  it  as  to  the  author's 
position  in  life.  The  form  of  it  will  remind  English  readers 
somewhat  remotely  of '  The  Nutbrown  Maid  ' ;  though  it  seems 
hardly  fair  to  the  latter  to  suggest  such  a  comparison.  The 
stanzas  are  of  five  lines,  the  first  three  being  iambics  of  15 
syllables  ;  in  fact  the  common  English  ballad  measure,  of  which 
a  typical  instance  is :  '  A  captain  bold  of  Halifax,  who  lived  in 
country  quarters ',  while  the  last  two  are  the  regular  '  hendeca- 
syllabics'.  The  stanzas  are  so  many  and  so  short  that  I  have 
departed  from  the  system  of  reference  adopted  elsewhere  in  this 


208  NOTES 

book,  and  given  the  stanza-numbers  only.  If  readers  will  bear 
in  mind  that  there  are  three  stanzas  on-  the  first  page,  and  six 
on  every  subsequent  one,  they  will  have  little  difficulty  in  finding 
the  place  referred  to. 

Stanza  i.  There  is  evidently  something  wrong  about  the 
second  line,  for  why  should  a  lady's  attractions  appeal  to  other 
ladies  ?  Grion  boldly  changes  le  donne  to  li  homini,  putting 
the  other  words  into  the  masculine  ;  but  what  seems  to  be 
wanted  is  a  substitute  for  disiano,  some  word  implying  '  envy  ', 
as  suggested  by  invidiata  in  Stanza  9.  Might  it  not  be 
finvidianol — The  MS.  gives  trami ;  I  have  followed  the  read- 
ing of  V.E.  —  focora  :  for  fochi.  This  irregular  feminine 
plural  formed  on  the  analogy  of  Lat.  corpora,  tempora,  &c,  is 
very  common  in  early  Italian,  and  not  peculiar  to  Sicily.  See 
Diez,  ii,  p.  27. 

Stanza  2.  arompere  :  '  to  plough  \ — abere  for  avere ;  b  for 
v  being,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  bolontate,  a  regular  Sicilian 
form. — monno  :  for  mondo. — cavelli :  for  capelli.—  aritonno  : 
1  clip  all  round  ',  i.  e.  '  become  a  nun '.  Probably  from  ritonda, 
though  doubtless  modified  in  sense  by  tondere. 

Stanza  4.  atalenti :  '  make  me  wish  ',  from  talento  in  the 
usual  meaning  of  •  inclination '. — paremo  :  mio  padre.  Forms 
like  mogliatna,  &c,  are  not  uncommon  in  Boccaccio  and  other 
Tuscans. — arigolgano:  rivolgano.—\\.  4,  5.  'However  well 
your  coming  tasted  to  you,  I  advise  you  to  look  sharp  about 
going  away.' 

Stanza  5.  difensa  . . .  agostari.  '  An  inferior  unjustly  at- 
tacked by  a  superior  was  allowed  to  invoke  the  Sovereign's  name, 
and  this  was  called  aDefensa.  If  a  Lord  robbed  his  vassal  after 
this  outcry,  he  was  debtor  to  the  Treasury  as  well  as  to  the 
wronged  sufferer  after  a  civil  process ;  but  this  did  not  apply 
to  offences  against  the  person '  (Kington  Oliphant,  Life  of 
Frederick  II,  i.  387).  This  system  was  instituted  in  1231,  and 
the  Augustals  were  first  struck  in  the  same  year,  so  the  poem 
cannot  have  been  written  before  that  ;  and,  seeing  that  the 
system  and  the  coins  had  evidently  become  quite  familiar  things 
by  the  time  it  was  written,  we  may  easily  add  a  few  years — 
unless,  indeed,  they  were  introduced  into  this  poem  with  a  view 


NOTES  209 

to  advertising  them.  It  may  perfectly  well  have  been  written  by 
some  one  about  the  Court. — The  allusion  to  the  father's  property 
in  Bari  suggests  that  he  was  supposed  to  be  a  person  of  some 
position.  We  can  hardly  suppose  that  the  scene  is  laid  in  Bari, 
since  Dante,  in  the  passage  above  referred  to,  is  clearly  dis- 
tinguishing Sicilians  from  Apulians,  so  that  we  must  suppose 
the  action  to  take  place  in  the  island  itself. — bella :  the  form  of 
this  word  shows  either  that  the  poem  was  not  written  in  the 
purest  Sicilian,  or  that  it  was  edited  by  the  probably  Tuscan 
scribe.     The  pure  Sicilian  form  would  be  biddcu 

Stanza  6.  perperi :  according  to  Nan.,  Byzantine  gold  coins, 
called  vnipnvpoi  (extra-fired). — Saladino  :  The  use  of  Saladin's 
name  with  the  present  tense  a  has  been  adduced  as  evidence 
of  the  early  date  of  the  poem,  Saladin  having  died  in  1 193.  But 
the  name  of  this  famous  personage  may  very  well  have  survived 
among  less  well-informed  persons  in  out-of-the-way  parts  of 
Christendom  as  a  general  designation  for  Saracen  sovereigns, 
a  result  to  which  its  resemblance  to  Soldano  would  contribute. 
The  difficulty  would  be  removed  altogether  by  expunging  a 
and  reading  quanto,  not  a  very  violent  remedy.  Even  if  we 
retain  the  a  the  lady's  reference  to  the  Soldano  in  the 
next  line  as  a  distinct  personage  from  '  the  Saladino '  shows 
that  she  was  but  imperfectly  acquainted  with  recent  Saracen 
history. 

Stanza  7.  parabole  :  the  full  form  of  the  word  which 
became  parole.  Here,  as  in  perperi  above,  and  elsewhere  in 
this  poem,  we  find  the  Greek  forms  retained. — adimina  for 
domina. — amonesta  :  '  admonishes '. 

Stanza  8.    er  —jeri. 

Stanza  9.  Donne,  the  reading  of  the  MS.,  is  somewhat 
weak,  and  gives  a  syllable  too  many  to  the  line.  Monaci  reads 
dot,  presumably  dogli  me,  but  this  does  not  save  the  metre. 
May  we  not  read  Dio  quante,  &c.  ? — schiantora  :  '  splinters '. 
Plural  Yike/ocora  in  Stanza  1. — pensanno  :  pensando. 

Stanza  10.  male :  '  to  your  own  hurt '.  As  in  Purg.  iv.  72. 
— treze  :  'tresses'. — consore  :  'sister  in  a  community'. — 
arendo  :  arendersi,  the  regular  term  for  entering  a  religious 
house  ;  so  renduto,  Purg.  xx.  54. — magione :  Fr.  maison,  Lat. 


210  NOTES 

mansio.    Used  specially  for  the  abode  of  a  religious  order,  as  of 
the  Templars,  in  Villani,  viii.  92. 

Stanza  ii.  viso  cleri:  see  note  to  No.  XX,  St.  2,  1.  1. 
Here  the  form  is  more  directly  French,  another  detail  which 
points  to  the  artificiality  of  the  piece. — dimino  :  cf.  adimina  in 
Stanza  7.  The  change  of  0  to  i  in  the  unaccented  syllable  is  of 
course  common  enough. 

Stanza  12.  Boime :  a  less  elegant  form  of  the  usual  oimc. 
— ao  =  d,  somewhat  nearer  to  the  original  habeo. — blestiemato : 
here  again  the  passive  participle  used  in  active  sense  ;  note  the 
/  of  blasphemia  retained,  as  in  the  Provencal  blasietnar,  another 
indication  of  hybridism  in  the  poem. — chiu :  for  piu,  a  Sicilianism 
which  we  have  already  found  in  these  poems. 

Stanza  14.  adomanimi :  dimandimi.—raon  peri :  here, 
again,  a  French  influence  is  obvious. 

Stanza   15.    bolt  a  (voltd)  so  tana  :    '  an   over-turn  from 
below ' ;  probably  a  wrestling  term,  though  the  dictionaries  do* 
not  seem  to  recognize  it. — villana  :  '  churlish '. 

Stanza  16.  manganiello:  a  mangonel,  the  well-known 
engine  used  in  mediaeval  times  for  battering  a  fortress ;  here 
generally  for  '  assault '. — groria  :  r  for  /  is  genuinely  Sicilian. — 
chiaci :  piaci. 

Stanza  17.  vitama  :  as  paremo  in  Stanza  4  and  elsewhere. 
— deboci=f/  debbo. — mosera  :  so  the  MS.  Most  editors  have 
altered  to  movera  (the  subject  being  of  course  the  '  danger ' 
referred  to  in  the  preceding  line).  But  is  it  not  possible  that 
mosera  or  mossera  may  be  a  dialectal  future  perfect,  formed 
directly  from  the  past  tense  (movo—movero  ;  mossi — mossero)  ? 
— ai'  :  the  first  person  is  clearly  required  here,  and  Val.  is 
probably  right  in  reading  aio,  or  perhaps  it  should  be  ao  as  in 
Stanza  12. 

Stanza  18.  abero  :  ebbero. — Note  that  the  second  line  lacks 
a  syllable  at  the  beginning,  a  familiar  feature  in  the  old  ballad 
poetry  of  all  languages.— nonde :  See  note  to  No.  VII,  St.  1, 
1.  6. — gironde:  girono  inde  ;  in  later  Italian  it  would  have  been 
ne  girono,  '  many  went  away  angry '.  Perhaps  tnolto  feri  would 
be  better ;  '  they  went  away  very  angry '  seems  to  give  a  more 
lively  touch. — 1.  4.  V.R.V.  intendi  bella  bene  do  chebol  dire ; 


NOTES  211 

bella  being,  as   the  editors   tell  us,  erased  in   ihe  MS.     Val. 
boglio  dire. — onze  :  presumably  of  silver. 

Stanza  i  g.  garofani:  literally  '  clove-pinks  \  Gr.  icapvo- 
(f>v\\ov.  Possibly  it  may  here  be  equivalent  to  our  '  swells '. — 
salma  'nd  'ai :  written  as  one  word  in  the  MS.  Val.  emends 
che  a  casata  mandai,  '  which  I  have  sent  to  your  house  '.  But  it 
seems  quite  possible  to  extract  a  better  sense  from  the  words  as 
they  stand.  '  Not  that  you  have  any  burden  of  them.'  He  is 
beginning  to  return  banter  for  banter. — m'  assai :  '  try  me ', 
'  essay  me  '.  So  the  wooer  in  Midas :  '  try  me,  ply  me,  prove 
ere  you  deny  me  '.  — 1.  3.  '  If  there  is  a  head-wind,  and  it  turns, 
and  you  come  to  shore.' — prai :  piaggie  ;  Lat.plaga,  whence,  of 
course,  the  r. 

Stanza  20.  macara  :  more  usually  magari,  '  would  that '. 
A  curious  word,  surviving  from  Gr.  (landpiov  =  '  blessed  would 
it  be,  if,  and  so,  'would  that'.  It  is  still  in  use. — acori: 
accorare  signifies  '  to  touch  the  heart '  in  any  way,  here  '  to  vex '. 
In  Purg.  v.  57,  and  Par.  viii.  73,  the  original  idea  is  retained 
with  a  somewhat  different  signification. — dengnara :  not  the 
future,  but  a  pluperfect  (Lat.  dignaverat)  with  a  conditional 
sense,  such  as  this  tense  has  acquired  in  Spanish  cantara,  &c. : 
1  He  had  not  ventured '. 

STANZA  21.  arma  :  alma,  anima. — pantasa:  this  word  is 
variously  explained.  Val.'s  tutta  from  an  imaginary  Greek 
naprao-la  may  be  dismissed,  as  a  verb  is  clearly  wanted.  Nan- 
nucci's  farnetica  and  Grion's  anela  come  really  to  the  same 
thing.  From  Greek  (pavraaia  came  the  O.Fr.  form  pantoisie, 
'  a  nightmare  ',  whence  our  '  pant ',  and  kindred  forms  occur  of 
course  in  the  other  languages,  as  Italian  fantasia.  The  form 
of  the  word  here  seems  again  to  point  to  the  artificial  origin  of 
the  poem,  p  for /not  being  a  Sicilian  peculiarity. — chiamarano : 
here  the  conditional  pluperfect  is  even  more  obvious  than  in 
dengnara  above. — malvasa :  malvagia  ;  curiously  enough,  this 
word  seems  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  malo,  but  to  come  from 
the  Gothic  balwawesei, '  wickedness ',  from  balwo,  akin  to  our 
bale. — traita :  the  form  traito  {traditd)  for  traditore  is  not 
recognized  by  the  dictionaries,  but  it  is  unmistakable  in 
Stanza  24,  and  Nan.  quotes  an  example  of  it  from  Fra  Guittone. 

PJ 


2T2  NOTES 

Stanza  22.  chissa :  questa. — persone :  for  persona.  See 
Wiese,  §  51.  The  meaning  here  appears  to  be  almost 
=  '  personality ' — '  you  cease  to  exist ',  '  there 's  an  end  of 
you '. — sormonare  :  probably  another  French  word,  surmener, 
'  to  over-drive  ',  '  weary  out '.  Nan.  would  read  sermonare, 
adducing  Prov.  sermonar,  which  does  not  appear  to  exist,  but 
which  he  has  apparently  confused  with  somoner  =  '  to  summon', 
and  French  sermonner,  which  is  a  later  word,  and  does  not 
mean,  as  he  would  interpret  his  sermonare,  'to  chatter'. — ave, 
in  the  frequent  sense  of  ^tnere  is ',  te  being  dependent  on 
aiutare. 

STANZA  23.  istrani :  for  istranio.  Both  strano  and  stranio 
are  found,  the  latter  corresponding  more  nearly  to  Latin 
extraneus. — canno  :  quando. — lo  'ntaiuto.  Val.  and  Nan.  read 
lo  trajuto,  and  explain  it  as  meaning  '  a  dress  with  a  train '. 
The  former,  while  allowing  that  intaiuto  may  also  be  the  name 
of  a  garment,  says  that  he  has  made  many  inquiries  among 
Sicilians,  including  ladies,  but  has  been  unable  to  find  out  that 
any  such  name  now  exists  in  Sicily.  Might'  it  not  be  ensaiuto, 
1  silk-trimmed '  ? 

Stanza  24.  Note  that  again  a  syllable  is  lacking  at  the 
beginning  of  the  second  division  of  the  first  line  ;  probably  the 
J  would  be  sounded  almost  as  iy.—covao  se  fosse,  &c, 
apparently  implying  that  the  garment  in  question  was  of  no 
very  costly  material.— sciamito  :  'velvet',  'samite',  from  Gr. 
i^afiiros  —  '  six-thread  ',  presumably  because  woven  of  that 
number. 

Stanza  25.  misera:  a  conditional  formed  direct  from  the 
Latin  pluperfect,  miseram. — trobaret':  trovereiti. — rina :  arena. 
— impretare :  impetrare. 

Stanza  26.    disdutto.    See  note  to  No.  XXXIV,  St.  2, 1.  9. 

Stanza  27.    fallo :  '  I  fail ',  from  fallare. 

Stanza  28.  di  core  paladino :  '  with  the  heart  of  a  valiant 
man',  or,  with  a  comma  after  core,  'my  valiant  man'.  The 
lady's  resistance  is  breaking  down,  she  now  only  asks  for  a 
little  delay. 

Stanza  29.  scannami :  '  cut  my  throat ',  from  canna, 
a  slang  term  for  gola  (Acharizio). — scalfi :   Nan.  explains  by 


NOTES  213 

sbucci, '  peel ' ;  but  '  boil ',  Lat.  excalifacere,  seems  a  good  deal 
more  probable. 

Stanza  32.  minespreso :  Prov.  menspreizar,  Fr.  mepriser. 
— arenno  here  is  simply  '  surrender '. 

XLI. 

This  again  is  a  burlesque  piece,  and  I  should  not  have 
included  it,  had  not  it  too  been  cited  by  Dante,  V.  E.  i.  11,  as 
a  skit  on  poems  composed  in  the  dialects  of  Rome,  Ancona, 
and  Spoleto.  He  gives  the  author's  name  as  '  quidam  Floren- 
tine, nomine  Castra'.  There  was  a  poet  named  Terino  da 
Castel  Fiorentino,  a  contemporary  of  Honesto  da  Bologna,  two 
of  whose  poems  are  in  the  Vatican  3793  ;  and  one  is  tempted  to 
think  that  Dante  may  have  got  his  name  inaccurately.  But  the 
MS.  assigns  this  to  an  otherwise  unknown  Messer  Osmano.  It 
is  probably  the  most  puzzling  piece  in  the  whole  collection. 
The  language  baffles  the  Italian  commentators ;  who,  when  in 
doubt,  are  apt  to  say  with  the  German  commentator  on 
Aristophanes :  '  mihi  quidem  arridet  interpretatio  obscenior '. 
I  cannot  profess  to  have  mastered  every  detail  or  explained 
every  word ;  but  in  my  view  there  is  nothing  improper  in  the 
poem.  A  vagabond  personage,  of  lower  rank  than  the  hero  of 
the  last,  meets  a  woman  carrying  food  to  the  field-workers.  He 
makes  discreditable  proposals  to  her ;  she  slaps  his  face,  and 
sets  him  to  work.  That  evening,  or  next  morning,  he  departs 
with  an  aching  back  and  something  in  his  wallet. 

The  stanzas  are  of  ten  lines,  in  another  familiar  ballad- 
measure ;  normally  \j-^,^j-^j\j-\j  ('a  day  I  shall  ever  re- 
member') represents  it  in  English,  but  an  extra  syllable  (or 
syllables)  is  freely  admitted  at  the  beginning,  as  in  the  first  line, 
where  una  may  be  regarded  as  extra  metric?n.  Rime-scheme  : 
ABABABCDCD. 

The  story  is  partly  narrated,  partly  in  the  form  of  dialogue. 

Stanza  i,  1. 1.  fermana :  Vat.  MS.  formana.  The  Grenoble 
MS.  has  una  ferinava,  and  an  annotator,  possibly  Corbinelli, 
has  underlined  the  quotation  in  red,  and  drawn  a  vertical  line, 
cutting  off  the  va.    This  is  hardly  distinguishable  irom  fer?nana, 


2i4  NOTES 

which  has  become  the  accepted  meaning.  But  the  sense  is  far 
from  obvious.  Strictly  speaking,  fermana  can  only  mean  a 
woman  from  Fermo,  but  what  should  a  woman  of  Fermo  be 
doing  in  Tuscany  ?  It  is  difficult  to  avoid  the  conviction  that 
the  word  has  something  to  do  with  '  farm ' ;  ferma  in  this  sense 
did  not  come  into  use  until  long  after,  but  ferine  already 
existed  in  French,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  words  of  French 
origin  are  not  uncommon  in  these  poems. — iscoppai :  if  this 
word  is  to  stand  it  can  hardly  mean  anything  but  '  I  spied '. 
The  Gr.  aMmeiv  may  have  continued  in  use  in  the  south-east  of 
Italy,  or  Sicily,  and  have  spread  northwards  for  poetical  pur- 
poses. But  it  is  a  question  whether  we  should  not  read  scappb, 
'  came  out '. 

1.  2.  cita  cita:  so  the  Gr.  MS.  and  Vat.  MS.  reads  cietto, 
probably  =cfteto,  'quietly';  cita,  'with  speed',  however,  fits  the 
sense  much  better. — sen  gia :  Vat.  MS.  sagia. — aina :  '  hurry ' ; 
from  Lat.  agere,  as  retina  from  mere,  says  Diez  ;  who,  however, 
will  not  identify  it  with  a  similar  word  in  late  Latin  meaning 
'  the  tongue  of  a  balance ',  though  one  would  have  said  that  the 
two  senses  might  very  well  have  had  the  same  origin. 

1.  3.  impingnoli  has  evidently  some  connexion  with  imfin- 
guare, '  to  fatten '.  May  we  conceive  that  the  objects  in  question 
were  some  kind  of  suet-dumpling  like  the  German  Nudel  ? 

1.  4.     saima  :  '  fat ',  or '  grease ',  Lat.  sagina, '  fattening  food '. 

L  5.    treccioli :  looks  as  if  it  should  mean  '  hair-ribbons '. 

1.  8.  se  mi  viva :  '  so  may  I  live ',  '  upon  my  life '.  This 
formula  is  familiar  enough  in  Dante,  e.g.  Purg.  ii.  16,  's'  io 
ancor  lo  veggia '.    se  represents  here  Lat  sic,  not  si. 

1.  9.  cantaba:  MS.  caba,  obviously  a  clerical  error.  The 
suggested  emendation  seems  obvious,  though  perhaps  contaba 
would  be  even  better. 

1.  10.  '  Forse  e  1'  unico  verso  chiaro  della  poesia '  (D'Ancona). 
— fantilla  :  '  maid-servant '. 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.  comannato  :  comandato ;  here  we  have  an 
undoubtedly  Sicilian  form. 

1.  2.  rote :  probably  '  rocks '  (with  allusion  to  the  caba  in  the 
preceding  stanza).  From  Lat.  rupta\  croda  in  this  sense  is 
common  in  the  south-eastern  Alps.  But  this  is  generally  identified 


NOTES  215 

with  grotta,  which  is  usually  derived  from  cryptay  Gr.  upvirTT], 
1  concealed ' ;  though  the  juxtaposition  of  cava  and  rota  here  lends 
some  weight  to  Raynouard's  suggestion  of  cava  rota,  which  Diez 
(from  whom  I  take  it)  calls  '  mehr  sinnreich  als  richtig '. 

1.  3.     vitto  :  '  victuals '. 

I.4.  scotitoi :  probably  'threshers'  or  'winnowers'. — MS. 
che  non  m'  encaite  ;  men  zote  is  the  suggestion  of  Grion,  who 
interprets  by  zoppicchino  ('lame,'  'unhandy').  To  supply  a 
verb,  I  have  altered  che  non  to  en'  enno.  Diez  identifies  zoto 
with  E^ench  sot.  The  derivation  of  the  words  is  uncertain. 
zotico  means  '  rustic ',  '  clownish  ' ;  the  sense  of  the  words  would 
thus  be  '  who  are  less  of  fools  (or  clowns)  than  you '. 

1.  5.  truffo  evidently  signifies  a  vessel  of  some  kind,  probably 
a  small  barrel ;  it  might  be  OHG.  truha,  our  '  trough ',  in  the 
sense  which  it  appears  to  have  had  of  '  a  wooden  case '. 

I.  6.     scordai  per  :  MS.  scordassero. 

II.  5,  6.  The  meaning  is  evidently  '  Nor  did  I  forget  the  gote 
and  scatoni  to  make  a  good  broth ',  though  I  am  not  able  to 
identify  these  viands,  unless  gote  may  signify  beef  or  mutton 
'cheeks '  such  as  might  be  used  in  making  broth. 

1.  8.  MS.  reads  farfiata  farfione.  My  emendation  is  some- 
what bold,  but  it  at  least  gives  a  sense  :  '  porridge  of  good  meal '. 
Grion,  retaining  farfiata,  interprets  as  'decotto  di  farfaro' 
(bran-mash). 

1.  9.  leva  te  su:  MS.  levatitesso,  which  Grion  interprets  as 
'  man  from  the  Levant ' ;  with  leva  te  su  cf.  levati  suso  in 
Stanza  28  of  the  preceding  poem. 

1.  10.  '  O  you  silly,  stupid  baboon ' ;  milensagine  in  the  sense 
of  '  silliness '  occurs  in  Boccaccio.  The  origin  of  the  word  is 
obscure. 

Stanza  3, 11.  1-3.  Apparently  '  I  was  in  a  bigger  funk  than 
I  should  have  been  at  the  devil '. — tansin  must  mean  '  so  far 
up  to '.— timiccio  must  be  read  as  timicc\ 

1.  4.  mi  died' :  '  gave  it  me ',  '  let  me  have  it '.  Cf.  Purg. 
ix.  ill. 

I.5.  crepato:  probably  in  the  sense  of  the  Yx.creve,'  broken- 
down  '. 

1.  7.     cica  :  '  a  little  bit '.    O.Fr.  chiche,  probably  with  gender 


216  NOTES 

changed,  from  Lat.  ciccwn,  literally  '  the  husk  which  encloses 
the  grain  of  corn ',  used  by  Plautus.  (The  word  is  said  to  be 
now  used  in  Tuscany  for  the  fag-end  of  a  cigar.— G.  de  Gregorio, 
Studj  Glottologici.) 

1.  8.     nosciella  :  nuptials. 

1.  9.  '  Get  out  of  that,  and  don't  go  through  the  corn !  ■ 
MS.  esciona. 

1.  10.  'Yes,  I  see  your  cheek  shining,'  no  doubt  from  the 
slap  which  she  has  administered ;  arlucar  =  rilucere. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.    aconsenchi :  for  aconsenti.    MS.  acorn-. 

1.  2.  'I  will  give  you  baskets  of  peaches.'  MS.  perfici,  which 
A.R.V.  retains. 

I.3.    moricie:  presumably 'mulberries'. 

1.  4.  MS.  tulli  atortte.  As  I  now  perceive,  we  should  read 
tu  ti  a*  torto, '  tu  as  tort '. 

1.  5.  al  oclenchi :  oailis  clinatis,  i.  e. '  and  not  look  at  me  '. 
Such  is  the  best  suggestion  I  can  make  as  to  this  queer-looking 
word. 

1. 6.  'I  will  add  you  colours  in  woven  stuff.'  tralici :  tralicio, 
Fr.  treillis,  f  cloth  woven  of  three  threads/  Lat.  trilicium  ;  prob- 
ably modified  in  meaning  by  treil/e,  Pr.  trelha,  It.  tralcio, '  vine- 
tendril  '. 

1.7.  faccio  rubesto:  MS.  rubusto  ;  '  act  roughly ' ;  for  ru- 
besto,  Lat.  robustus,  cf.  Purg.  v.  125. 

1.  8.  sucotata :  the  only  suggestion  I  can  make  is  that  we 
should  read  scuotata  —  scossa,  treating  ai  as  a  disyllable  before 
the  sc,  the  meaning  being  '  shaken  my  resolution '. 

1.  9.  So  the  MS.,  except  that  it  has  rusto.  The  reading  is 
obviously  corrupt,  and  Grion  does  not  mend  matters  much  by 
writing  Pirino  Rusto.  For  ne  sia  I  should  suggest  '»  esso,  and 
possibly  resta  for  resto,  reading  also  rubesta  in  1.  7  ;  pirino 
seems  hopeless,  unless  we  may  take  it  to  mean  a  '  pear-orchard '. 
'  Come  here  for  to-day,  stay  in  this  pear-orchard '. 

1.  10.  'And  don't  let  me  be  made  angry  with  your  ogling.' 
MS.  edadochia. 

Stanza  5,  1.  1.  Grion  would  understand  the  first  word  to 
mean  al  ab  orlu,  '  at  day-break,'  which  gives  a  good  sense : 
'  Next  morning  I  went  away  weary '.     We  have  seen  already 


NOTES  217 

an  apparent  Latinism  in  oclenchi  above.—  alaterato  :  cf.  Fr. 
alte'rer. 

1.  2.  chera  alvato :  alvato  is  vox  nihili,  and  I  think  we 
might  read  lavorato  era. — senza  sollena :  '  without  drawing 
breath '. 

1.  3.  battisaco,  one  can  hardly  doubt,  is  the  German  bettel- 
sack,  '  beggar's  wallet ' ;  bel  (or  perhaps  ben)  lavato,  *  well- 
washed,'  I  take  to  be  a  slang  term  for  '  well-furnished  '. 

1.  4.  Probably  mi  'I pose  '», '  I  put  it  on  my  back  again  '  (one 
would  like  to  read  mi  duolse,  '  my  back  was  aching  from  the 
head  downwards,'  but  this  might  be  too  much  of  a  liberty  to 
take  with  the  text). 

1.  6.    '  For  she  cast  a  kind  breath  over  me.' 

1.  7.  essa  :  MS.  esso. — miffui  apatovito :  '  I  made  it  up 
with  her'. 

1.  8.  I  suspect  that  altrei  contains  the  Prov.  atitrejar,  Fr. 
octroyer,  '  to  permit '  (Lat.  auctoricare).  The  line  is  a  syllable 
short,  and  perhaps  we  should  read  altrerei,  '  and  never  would 
I  allow  myself  there  again  '. 

1.  9.  fare :  MS./ai.  '  Never  act  like  a  foolish  man,'  or,  if  we 
read  mal/ai, '  you  do  ill  to  act,'  &c.  -iscionito  :  this  word  seems 
to  be  unknown  to  the  dictionaries  ;  if  we  retain  it,  it  might  mean 
4  devoid  of  shame ',  the  prefix  set  usually  corresponding  to  ex  and 
the  remainder  from  the  same  root  which  has  given  us  Fr.  honir, 
Pr.  aunir,  It.  onta,  &c,  but  perhaps  it  may  be  better  to  read 
scinmito,  which  also  fits  the  metre  better. 

1.  10.  sei :  MS.  ei.  '  It  seems  to  me  that  you  are  quite  a 
master.' 

XLII. 

With  Fra  Guittone  we  enter  upon  a  new  phase  of  poetry. 
The  date  of  his  birth  is  uncertain,  but  he  died  in  1294,  probably 
at  Florence,  where  he  had  contributed  to  the  foundation  of  the 
Church  of  Santa  Maria  degli  Angeli.  He  was  the  son  of  Michele 
di  Viva,  a  citizen  of  Arezzo,  and  Chamberlain  of  the  Commune. 
The  name  Guittone  is  obviously  of  Teutonic  origin.  The  full 
name  of  the  poet  generally  known  as  Cino  of  Pistoja  is  said  to 
have  been  Guittoncino ;   it  may  possibly  have  been  only  an 


218  NOTES 

augmentative  of  Guido.  The  prefix  Fra  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
about  1269  Guittone,  who  had  hitherto  led  the  ordinary  life  of 
a  man  of  the  world,  joined  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  S.  Mary, 
known  to  us  from  Dante  and  others  as  the  Frati  Gaudenti, 
1  Friars  who  enjoyed  life ' — since  their  rule  was  very  easy,  and 
even  married  men  were  not  required  to  abandon  family  life. 
Guittone,  however,  appears,  like  Dante  after  him,  to  have  under- 
gone some  kind  of !  conversion  \  His  verses,  which  in  his  earlier 
life  were  of  the  usual  amatory  character,  became  serious  and 
often  devotional.  Many  of  his  odes,  though  somewhat  rugged 
in  form,  show  a  vein  of  elevated  thought  both  moral  and 
political.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  canzone  with  him  is 
approaching  the  form  which  it  ultimately  took.  The  stanzas 
are  longer,  and  the  shorter  comiato  at  the  end  is  a  usual 
feature.  There  are  evidences  that  Dante  must  have  been 
indebted  to  him.  This  being  so,  it  is  curious  that  Dante 
never  refers  to  him  save  in  terms  of  depreciation,  e.  g.  Purg. 
xxiv.  56,  xxvi.  124 ;  and  V.  E.  i.  13,  ii.  6.  All  these,  no  doubt, 
have  reference  more  to  his  style  than  to  his  matter,  but  one 
would  have  expected  some  word  of  recognition  for  a  poet  whose 
mind  seems  to  have  been  to  a  great  extent  cast  in  the  same 
mould  as  Dante's  own,  and  with  whom  Dante  must  have  been 
personally  acquainted.  Guittone's  poetry  was  evidently  well 
known  to  Bembo  and  others  of  the  sixteenth  century,  though 
the  poems  assigned  to  him  in  the  Giunta  compilation  of  1527 
are  for  the  most  part  spurious.  The  first  extant  collected 
edition  of  his  poetical  works  (for  he  was  a  prose  writer  also, 
and  many  of  his  letters  exist)  appears  to  be  that  of  Valeriani 
in  1828. 

The  following  ode  is  thick  with  Provengalisms,  and  is  indeed 
only  too  successful  an  imitation  of  the  Provencal '  obscure  rimes '. 
Here  and  there  resemblances  will  be  found  to  No.  XXVII.  It 
obviously  belongs  to  the  author's  earlier  period,  and  consists 
of  five  fourteen-line  stanzas  and  two  of  six  lines.  The  lines  are 
all  of  eleven  syllables  save  the  tenth  of  the  long  stanzas  and  the 
second  of  the  short.  Rime-scheme  :  ABCBABCBDDEEDE  ; 
for  the  short  stanzas  AABBAB.  It  is  printed  in  the  Giunta 
of  1527. 


NOTES  219 

Stanza  I,  1.  2.  Note  that  gioia  is  beginning  to  be  two 
syllables. — appo  :  Lat.  apud,  *  beside '. 

I.  4.  validore  :  'a  defender',  a  Provengal  word ;  '  I  see  that 
nothing  but  death  can  be  my  defender '. 

II.  5,  6.  '  Annoy  has  little  power  before  pleasure  has  been 
felt,  but  afterwards  it  has  only  too  much.' — tristore :  another 
Provencal  form. 

11.  7,  8.  '  Poverty  must  needs  present  itself  greater  to  one 
who  comes  back  to  it  than  to  one  who  first  enters  upon  it.' 
Notice  again  the  Provencal  forms  ritornador,  entradore. 

1.  11.  del  meo  paraggio  appears  to  mean  'in  comparison 
with  me '.  Alunno  interprets  paraggio  by  paragone,  '  touch- 
stone,' citing  Petr.  Tri.  Div.  115. 

1.  13.  mio  forsenato  :  'my  own  senselessness' ;  for  the  use 
of  the  adjective  in  place  of  the  abstract  noun  cf.  meo  bello, 
St.  5, 1.  4.  forsenato  (Mod.F r.  forcene)  is  a  compound  of  Lat. 
forts  and  Germ.  sinn. 

1.  14.  'Nothing  is  any  longer  certain,  save  that  he  wishes 
my  ruin.' 

Stanza  2, 1. 1.  Co :  come. — mal :  '  to  my  own  hurt '.—  amaro 
amore  :  a  favourite  play  on  words. 

1.  3.    piacientier :  Prov.  plazentieira. 

1.  4.  Val.  shifts  the  comma  to  ben,  and  omits  the  e  after 
somma  ;  but  somma  appears  to  be  here  a  subst.  '  sum '. 

1.  5.  peggio  :  '  still  more  to  my  hurt '. — dibonaire  :  a  French 
word. 

1.  8.  Vat.  MS.  piu  como  mai.  The  emendation  in  the  text 
seems  to  me  now  unnecessary.     Giunta :  piu  mai  non. 

1.  10.    Note  reina  three  syllables. 

1.  11.  I  have  inserted  e  before  basso  as  necessary  to  the 
balance  of  the  sentence.  Giunta :  Ne~  re  si  ricco  tin  hitom  di 
vile,  e  basso. 

1.  12.  MS.  nevostra  pare reina  amore.  Giunta:  CK  Amor  vie 
phi  no'l  facciam  tin  sol  passo. — aparer  I  understand  to  mean 
'  equal '  (Prov. parers)  with  reference  to  pare  in  1.  9. — passo  I  be- 
lieve to  be  also  a  Proven^alism  in  the  sense  of 'suffer 'or 'endure'. 

1.  13.  The  reference  to  Lam.  i.  12  can  hardly  be  mistaken. 
It  was  rendered  more  famous  by  Dante  in  V.  N.  §  7. 


22o  NOTES 

Stanza  3, 1.  2.  If,  as  suggested,  we  read  oltre  grato  we  may 
compare  Prov.  estragrat  =  Fr.  malgri. 

1.  3.  ostal  d'  ogni  tormento :  cf.  Purg.  vi.  76,  di  dolore 
ostello. 

1.  5.  coralmente  :  'in  the  heart',  Prov.  coralmen;  used  by 
Dante  in  a  sonnet,  V.  N.  §  22,  but  not  in  D.  C. 

I.  7.  fora :  Lat.  fueram,  another  instance  of  the  plqpf.  be- 
come conditional.  In  this  case  we  can  exactly  parallel  it  in 
English,  '  I  had  passed '. 

II.  8  sqq.     All  this  again  is  common  form  in  the  early  rimers. 
1.  11.    opo :  in  later  Italian  d'  uopo,  Lat.  opusfuerat, '  it  had 

been  necessary  \ 

Stanza  4, 11.  5,  6.  Giunta :  Ma  cK  eo  non  posso;  I  cib  mi 
fa  ben  tortoj  di  ritornare  in  miaforza,  <?  savere.  But  the  lines 
as  they  stand  in  V.R.V.,  though  crabbed,  give  a  good  sense, '  but 
herein  I  have  no  power,  since  force  and  knowledge  are  wrenched 
from  me  and  gone  back  to  you '.  Forzo  for  forza  seems  to  be 
a  favourite  with  Guittone ;  it  recurs  in  the  next  stanza,  and  in 
rime  in  the  following  poem. 

1.  11.  m'  atteggi:  'shape  myself.  The  word  occurs  in 
Purg.  x.  78. 

1.  12.  om:  exactly  the  Fr.  on.—  mostra  a  dito:  the  digito 
monstrare  of  Horace. 

1.  13.  si  gabba  :  '  mocks ' ;  for  the  reflexive  cf.  Fr.  se  moquer 
de.  The  mockery  applied  to  unfortunate  lovers  is  a  common- 
place. It  will  be  remembered  how  in  V.  N.  §  14  the  ladies  si 
gabbavano  at  Dante.  The  general  idea  may  not  improbably 
have  been  taken  from  Ps.  xxxi  (Vulgate  xxx.  12,  13).  As  we  have 
seen  in  several  instances,  there  is  a  curious  tendency  to  use 
Scriptural  no  less  than  feudal  phraseology  to  describe  the  rela- 
tions between  lover  and  lady. 

Stanza  5,  1.  2.  pun  to  fortunal :  'a  stormy  moment'. 
fortuna  in  the  sense  of  a  storm  at  sea  is  common  both  in 
Prov.  and  in  It.,  e.g.  Purg.  xxxii.  116. 

1.  4.  doblo :  a  pure  Provencalism.  The  Italian  word  of 
course  is  doppio. 

1.  5.     pardeo :  here  we  have  French  influence  again. 

1.  6.    me,  as  often,  for  mi,  but  here  dative. 


NOTES  221 

1.  7.     eo  :  should  we  not  read  no,  *  I  have '  ? 

I.  8.  e :  not '  and',  but '  too '. — chiavello :  properly  a  pointed 
spike. — stringere  usually  has  the  sense  of  'gripe',  'strain  to- 
gether '.  Here  stringe  must  be  equivalent  to  distrinse, '  strained 
apart  and  so  pierced,'  but  the  meaning  is  somewhat  obscure. 

I.  10.    aprovata  :  '  tested '. 

II.  11,  12.  Giunta:  'Che  ben  f&  forza  di  mession  d'  havere: 
Basso  huom  non  puote  in  donna  alta  capere'.  The  lines  as 
they  stand  in  the  text  seem  almost  unconstruable.  Dimession 
does  not  seem  to  be  an  Italian  word,  but  to  represent  the 
French  demission,  'resignation,'  and  cafiare  should  no  doubt 
be  d  afiare.  The  general  meaning  I  take  to  be :  '  Power  strained 
too  far  (forzo)  at  times  makes  a  lady  who  appears  high  resign 
her  right  of  possession  over  a  man  of  low  degree ' ;  a  sentiment 
of  which  we  have  already  had  one  or  two  instances.  In  other 
words,  '  the  lord  must  not  press  his  vassal  too  hard  or  he  will 
lose  him'. 

1.  13.    v'  agradio :  '  was  to  your  taste '. 

Stanza  6, 1.  4.  paraggio :  see  note  above ;  here  it  is  clearly 
'  comparison '. 

1.  5.  ritornate :  '  bring  me  back ' ;  we  should  have  expected 
a  future,  but  the  use  of  the  present,  as  in  English,  is  not 
unknown. 

Stanza  7,  1.  6.  o' :  ove. — mistero :  '  trade '  or  '  craft ' ;  Lat. 
ministerium.  '  Every  work  must  be  judged  by  its  end ' ;  an 
obvious  reminiscence  of  the  opening  chapter  of  Aristotle's 
Ethics. 

XLIII. 
This  again  is  obviously  an  early  production.  It  is  little  more 
han  an  exercise  in  ingenious  riming.  As  will  be  seen,  in  each 
case  the  rime-syllables  consist  of  precisely  the  same  letters  as 
in  Nos.  XXX  and  XXXI,  whether  contained  in  one  word  or 
more.  This,  of  course,  was  technically  correct  so  long  as  the 
meanings  were  different,  but  when  carried  through  an  entire 
poem  it  becomes  something  of  a  tour  de  force,  and  usually 
makes  interpretation  difficult,  and  the  reader  sympathizes  with 
Dante's  condemnation  of  it  as  inutilis  aeqtdvocatio  quae  semper 


222  NOTES 

sententiae  qaidquam  derogare  videtur  ( V.  E.  ii.  13).  There  are 
five  stanzas  of  twelve  lines  followed  by  two  of  six  each,  normally 
of  seven  syllables,  but  with  a  good  many  versi  tronchi.  Rime- 
scheme  :  ABCABCDDEEFF ;  AABBCC.  The  poem  was 
printed  by  Allacci,  but  is  not  in  Valeriani's  edition. 

Stanza  i,  1.  2.  campo:  'fly  from'.  The  word  seems 
curiously  to  have  become,  and  for  that  matter  to  remain, 
equivalent  to  its  contrary  scampare,  which  means  'to  leave 
the  field ',  '  decamp '. 

I.  3.  attacca :  from  tacca, '  the  heel  of  a  shoe '  (something 
tacked  on).  From  this  branched  off  the  two  meanings  of 
'attach'  and  'attack'  (Fr.  s'attacher,  'to  attach  oneself  to,' 
'  stick  closely  to ' ;  attacquer,  '  to  attack '). 

II.  4-6.  '  I  like  it  as  much  as  digging  in  the  fields,  or  trusting 
to  a  tally.' — zappar :  Diez  suggests  from  Greek  o-Kcmreiv,  the 
change  of  one  to  z  occurring  elsewhere. — tacca  is  at  this  day, 
and  doubtless  had  then  become,  equivalent  to  taglia,  '  a  notch ' ; 
such  as  those  by  which  accounts  were  kept. 

1.  7.    bon  sapemi :  '  tastes  well  to  me '. 
1.  1 1.    maidi :  apparently  =  oggi  mat, '  to-day  and  for  ever  '. 
1.  12.    '  Let  him  who  will,  say  ''You  say  ill."  ' 
Stanza  2, 1.  3.    alma :  '  a  soul '. 

1.  4.  soma :  probably  for  somma,  as  in  Stanza  2, 1.  4  of  the 
preceding  poem, '  the  sum,'  but  it  may  be  merely  '  a  load  '. 

I.  6.    alma :  '  kind '. 

II.  9, 10.  The  shade  of  difference  in  the  meaning  of  manco  is 
very  faint ;  all  that  can  be  said  is  that  the  first  is  part,  (for 
mancato),  the  second  adj. 

1.  12.  dobbio:  for  debbo;  the  o  doubtless  justified  in  the 
poet's  mind  by  dmiere. 

Stanza  3, 1.  3.  prd:  for  firode,  'prowess'.  'To  love  is  as 
good  as  prowess  to  him.' 

1.  5.  scola :  a  small  boat,  undoubtedly,  as  suggested  to  me 
some  years  ago  by  Mr.  F.  C.  Hodgson,  from  the  Lat.  scaphula. 
The  word  seems  to  have  become,  at  an  early  date,  confused 
with  spuola,  the  weaver's  'spool'  or  'shuttle'.  It  occurs  as  a 
variant  to  this  in  some  MSS.  oiPurg.  xxxi.  96,  where  Benvenuto, 
who  adopts  it,  interprets  it  by  a  genus  navigii. 


NOTES  223 

1.  6.     pro:  here  an  adj.,  Yx.preux. 

1.  8.    bisongni :  apparently  in  the  sense  of  bisogne, '  business,' 
the  meaning  being  '  love  gives  a  spur  to  heart  and  action '. 
1.  10.    for  zb :  fuor  cid,  '  apart  from  this '. 

I.  11.  briga:  'struggle',  from  a  Gothic  root  meaning  'to 
break '.     Purg.  xvi.  1 17  is  a  good  instance  of  its  use. 

I.12.  varagia  :  for  varrd.  The  general  meaning  is  '  without 
love,  a  man  who  has  to  struggle  or  labour  will  not  be  able  to 
make  the  best  of  such  powers  as  he  has  '. 

Stanza  4, 1.  4.    gioia :  'jewel '. 

II.  3-5.  Vat.  MS.  chetale  sua  pare  nolaudo  quanto  glotra- 
valglio.  All.  che  tal  parte  non  laudo  ver  che  varia  travaio. 
The  few  slight  modifications  which  I  have  made  seem  to  give 
the  required  sense. 

11.  6-8.  quanto  should  perhaps  be  quando ;  '  when  I  am  in 
trouble  for  her  (i.  e.  am  toiling  to  win  her)  all  my  pleasure  would 
depart  if  I  could  hold  her  at  my  ease '. 

1.  10.    non  varannolo:  '  will  not  avail  him'. 

1.  II.  terral :  terra  lo.  We  should  have  expected  le,  sc. 
gioie,  but  strict  syntax  need  not  be  too  severely  demanded  in 
a  poem  of  this  kind. 

Stanza  5, 1.  1.    mesto  :  'mingled'. 

1.  3.  a  me :  Vat.  MS.  enme ;  if  we  read  ante  it  must  be  taken 
as  the  subj. '  may  I  love ',  but  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  read 
e  p.  s.  a  me. 

1.  4.    mesto  :  '  sad '. 

1.  5.  si  :  perhaps  better  se.  '  If  I  get  a  good  word  from  every 
one  who  is  in  trouble,  I  am  well  repaid.' 

1.  10.  MS.  chepona.  '  Expectation  is  better  than  possession  ; 
he  who  obtains  the  latter  has  nothing  compared  with  him  who 
hoped.' 

1.  12.    '  It  is  like  going  from  high  summer  to  winter.' 

Stanza  6, 1.  5.    onne :  ogni. 

Stanza  7,  1.  1.  adessa  for  adesso  may  be  explained  by 
supposing  the  existence  of  ad  ipsam  horam. 

1.  3.    '  Whose  vassal  I  am.' 

1.  6.    s'  omo :  apparently  su'  omo. 


224  NOTES 


XLIV. 


This  again  is  obviously  an  early  poem.  It  is  addressed  to 
Mazzeo  di  Rico,  who  was  probably  Guittone's  senior,  and  is 
quite  in  the  early  conventional  style.  The  stanzas  are  of  sixteen 
lines,  every  fourth  line  being  of  eleven  syllables,  the  rest  of 
seven.  Rime-scheme:  ABAaCDBDCEEFfCAAHhC  (this  is 
the  scheme  of  the  first  stanza,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  be  very 
strictly  adhered  to.  This,  however,  may  be  due  to  errors  in 
the  MS.). 

Stanza  i.  11. 2,  3  are  lacking  in  the  Vat.  MS.  I  have  supplied 
them  from  Valeriani,  who  presumably  took  them  from  the 
Laurentian  MS. 

1.  7.    c' :  that  is, '  love '. 

1.  8.    a  :  it  might  be  better  to  read  d. 

1.  9.  invegio :  apparently  the  Prov.  envezar,  *  to  cheer  up,' 
and  the  participle  envezatj '  merry '. 

I.  12.  fosse  fallire :  'were  at  fault'.  Bembo  distinguishes 
fallire  and.  failure  as  implying,  the  first  'a  fault',  the  second 

'  a  failure '  or  '  mistake ',  and   such  would    seem  to  be   the 
difference  here. 

11. 13,  14.  '  He  is  in  error  for  whom  it  does  not  make  a  thing 
more  pleasing  that  it  is  in  agreement  with  the  truth.'  Con- 
structions like  chi  non  git  fa  for  a  chi  non  fa  are  not  un- 
common. 

II.  15,  16.  '  Let  good  giving  give  oblivion  to  ill,  since  service 
avails,'  i.  e.  '  the  service  is  the  real  thing,  and  one  may  forget 
the  ills  for  the  sake  of  the  good  that  is  given '.  The  gender  of 
ubria  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  Prov.  oblida. 

Stanza  2, 1.  3.    ubria  consento :  •  I  agree  to  forget '. 

1.  4.    '  Good,  even  under  a  false  visage,  is  acceptable.' 

1.  5.  laudata,  referring  to  both  lo  ben  and  opera,  takes  the 
gender  of  the  nearest  subst. 

1.  9.    for  :  fuori, l  without '. 

1.  13.  A  sentiment  which,  though  it  does  not  occur  in  so 
many  words  in  the  famous  discussion  of  nobility  (Conv.  iv.  9), 
Dante  would  have  thoroughly  approved. 

1. 15.    chente :  '  whoever ',  literally  '  who  in  being ',  cf.  neiente. 


NOTES  225 

Stanza  3,  1.  7.    Note  the  omission  of  the  relative  before  sn. 

I.  9.  avaccio :  *  in  haste '.  Dante  uses  the  word  several 
times ;  a  good  instance  will  be  found  in  Par.  xvi.  70 ;  and  it 
occurs  in  Boccaccio.  The  origin  is  doubtful ;  a  discussion  of  it 
will  be  found  in  the  glossary  to  my  edition  of  the  Purgatory, 
avacciare  appears  to  have  become  assimilated  in  meaning  to 
avanzare. 

II.  11,  12.    Again  a  thoroughly  Dantesque  sentiment. 
1.  16.    prender  sagio :  '  take  a  test '. 

Stanza  4,  1.  I.  appro vo  lo  saggio :  '  had  found  the  test 
good'. 

1.  3.  '  That  it  was  of  refined  homage.'  fino  has  here  the  usual, 
almost  untranslateable,  sense  that  it  bears  in  the  language  of 
courtly  love. 

1.  13.    damagio :  a  less  usual  form  of  dannaggio. 

Stanza  5, 1.  8.    cheri :  '  demands '. 

1.  12.  Apparently  an  allusion  to  Prezivalle  Doria's  poem 
Amor  m'  d  priso  (A.R.V.  lxxxvi).  It  would  perhaps  be  the 
best  to  delete  the  full  stop  at  the  end  of  this  line,  and  in  1.  13 
regard  morto  as  standing  for  morte. 

1.  15.    'ncrescienza :  'annoyance'. 

Stanza  6, 1.  1.  ene  =  merely  e,  as  in  the  next  line  mene  is 
simply  me,  the  enclitic  ne  having  very  little  force  in  the  first 
instance,  and  none  in  the  second. 

I.  11.    '  Salute  him  for  me,  look  him  up  for  me.' 

II.  12,  13.  '  Tell  him  that  it  happens  according  to  reason  that 
guerdon  is  bound  to  ruin  him  who  asks  for  it.' 

1.  14.    fogli  fede :  '  I  assure  him.' 

1.  15.    dispresgia  appears  here  to  mean  'makes  light  of. 


XLV. 

In  this  piece  we  have  Fra  Guittone  in  a  more  serious  mood. 
It  is  a  lament  over  the  rout  of  the  Florentine  Guelfs  by  their 
own  Ghibeline  exiles  allied  with  the  Sienese  in  the  battle  of 
Montaperti,  Sept.  4,  1260,  when,  as  Dante  says,  the  Arbia 
was  dyed  red.     A  certain  amount  of  admonition  is  mingled 


226  NOTES 

with  the  regret,  but  there  is  none  of  the  exultation  which  one 
would  have  expected  from  a  citizen  of  so  staunch  a  Ghibeline 
city  as  Arezzo.  The  stanzas  are  of  fifteen  lines,  except  the 
comiato,  and  the  lines  are  all  of  eleven  syllables,  save  the 
second  and  fourth  from  the  end  in  each  stanza.  It  will  be 
noted  that  with  the  exception  of  the  comtato  each  stanza 
begins  with  the  last  word  of  the  preceding.  Rime-scheme : 
ABBACDDCEFGGFFE. 

Stanza  i,  1.  3.  meraviglio:  exactly  the  equivalent  to  our 
'I  wonder'.  Note  that  the  last  two  syllables  must  be  scanned 
as  one,  as  usually  with  words  ending  in  -glio. 

1.  4.  nol  agia  :  MS.  nollagia.  I  suspect  that  we  ought  to 
read  no  rt  agia,  che  morto  non  seems  to  be  equivalent  to  non 
che  morto, '  not  to  say  that  a  dead  man  would  hold  it '  (or  '  would 
have  from  it ')  '  grief  and  tears '. 

1.  5.  granata  :  the  grains  or  berries  in  the  Florentine  '  lily', 
which  is  really  an  iris  showing  its  open  seed  capsules,  are  a 
familiar  feature. 

1.  6.  uso  romano  :  the  directly  Roman  origin  of  Florence 
was  a  firm  article  of  belief  in  the  thirteenth  century ;  Villani 
(iii.  1)  makes  a  deputation  sent  from  Florence  to  Charlemagne 
and  the  Romans  with  a  request  for  the  refounding  of  the  city 
speak  of  it  as  loro  figliuola  ;  and  Dante  has  a  notable  reference 
to  the  same  tradition  in  his  epistle  to  the  Emperor  Henry :  '  in 
Romam  comua  exacuit,  quae  ad  imaginem  suam  atque  simili- 
tudinem  fecit  illam '. 

Stanza  2, 1.  2.  Cf.  'Nought  shall  make  us  rue,  if  England 
to  itself  do  rest  but  true '. 

1.  3.  It  might  perhaps  be  better  to  read  V  mondo,  *  so  that  it 
kept  the  world  loyal  to  the  Emperor,  comparing  Dante's  soleva 
Roma,  che  7  buon  mondo  feo  {Purg.  xvi.  106).  Mon.  reads 
modo. 

1.  10.  a  suo  pro  :  '  to  its  own  profit '.  So  a  fa  lor  pro 
{Inf.  ii.  no).  One  may  compare  these  lines  with  Dante's 
apostrophe  to  Florence  at  the  end  of  Purg.  vi,  only  that  the 
terms  of  praise  are  there  used  in  bitter  irony. 

1.  12.  amoroso:  in  passive  sense.  Cf.  No.  XLVII,  St.  iv, 
I.  18. 


NOTES  227 

Stanza  3, 1.  5.    Quegli :  the  banished  Ghibeline  nobles. 
1.6.     schiatta :   'stock'.     Cf.  /'  oltracotata  schiatta,  Par. 
xvi.  115.    Germ,  geschlecht. 

1.  8.     collogati  im  bono  :  '  placed  in  good  position '. 

I.  13.  The  lion  of  Florence,  having  once  punished  the  Ghibe- 
lines,  gave  them  a  chance  of  striking  again,  since  to  its  own 
hurt  it  controlled  itself,  forte  seems  to  have  here  the  same 
meaning  as  in  Purg.  vi.  18. 

Stanza  4,  1.  4.  latino :  '  Italian ' ;  one  is  reminded  of  the 
form  of  Omberto's  words,  Purg.  xi.  65,  66. 

II.  6,  7.  Montalcino  and  Montepulciano  are  towns  in  Sienese 
territory,  and  it  was  an  attempt  of  the  Florentines  to  put  a 
garrison  in  the  former  which  led  to  the  battle  of  Montaperti. 

1.  7.  It  might  be  better,  as  I  have  suggested  in  the  note,  to 
read  miso  a  sua  rinforza. 

I.  8.  Cervia  :  in  Romagna,  a  little  south  of  Ravenna  {Purg. 
xv.  44).  With  the  Maremma,  it  may  be  taken  as  denoting  the 
limits  of  Tuscany  and  Romagna. 

II.  9,  10.  Places  in  Florentine  territory.  Colle  di  Valdelsa,  it 
will  be  remembered,  was  the  site  of  the  battle  where  the  Floren- 
tines on  June  n,  1269,  had  their  revenge  on  the  Sienese  {Purg. 
xiii.  115).     The  subject  to  tene  is  Siena,  carried  on  from  line  5. 

1. 1 1.  campana :  Villani  mentions  how  the  Florentines  carried 
their  great  bell  known  as  the  Martinella  into  the  battle  with 
them. 

1.  15.  quella  schiatta  appears  here  to  mean  the  common 
people  who,  against  the  advice  of  the  nobles,  forced  on  the 
expedition  which  ended  at  Montaperti  (Vill.  vi.  yj).  It  is 
curious  that  on  this  occasion  it  was  one  of  Dante's  oltracotata 
schiatta,  Tegghaio  Aldobrandi  of  the  Adimari,  who  was  spokes- 
man on  the  side  of  caution. 

Stanza  5, 1.  4.  danno  can  hardly  stand,  as  there  seems  to 
be  no  shade  of  difference  in  meaning  here  from  that  in  1.  1. 

1.  5.     I  have  inserted  una  to  preserve  the  metre. 

1.  8.  par  v'  adagia  :  '  seems  to  set  you  at  ease  ',  probably 
ironical. 

1.  9.  gli  Alamanni :  after  the  battle  of  Montaperti,  Florence 
was  occupied  by  the  detachment  of  Manfred's  German  troops 

Q2 


228  NOTES 

who,  under  their  commander  Count  Giordano  Lancia,  had 
assisted  the  Ghibelines  and  Sienese. 

Stanza  6,  1.  2.  Conti  usually  denotes  the  '  Conti  Guidi ', 
one  of  whom,  Count  Guidoguerra,  was  a  military  leader  of  the 
Florentine  Guelfs,  the  Uberti  being  the  leaders  of  the  banished 
Ghibelines.  The  meaning  must  be  '  that  you  show  all  kinds  of 
honour  to  the  chiefs  of  both  parties,  who  have  been  equally 
guilty  of  bringing  you  into  this  disgrace ' ;  though  it  must  be 
said  that  Guidoguerra  joined  with  Tegghaio  in  advising  against 
rash  measures. 

1.  4  sqq.    Obviously  ironical. 

1.  7.  Conte  Rosso :  the  Giacopi,  called  Rossi,  were  one  of 
the  Guelf  families  of  Florence,  but  I  cannot  trace  the  precise 
point  of  the  allusion. 

1.  9.  Ripafratte  :  a  Florentine  castle  on  the  frontier  towards 
Pisa.  Florence  being  now  Ghibeline,  Pisa  would  of  course  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  it. 

1.  10.    lago :  Lake  Trasimenus. 

1.  15.  MS.  potete  fare  fare,  the  second  fare  being  doubtless 
a  scribe's  error  owing  to  the  turning  over  of  a  page,  though 
A.R.V.  retains  it.  The  line  seems  to  mean  merely  'you  can 
make  Tuscany  a  separate  kingdom  '. 


XLVL 

This  poem  shows  Fra  Guittone  at  his  best.  The  language  is 
simple,  the  verse  is  musical,  and  the  various  characters  are  so 
described  as  to  express  in  few  words  a  high  ideal.  It  is  modelled 
on  a  well-known  Provencal  type,  in  which  the  writer  enumerates 
various  objects  which  give  him  pleasure.  Good  examples  are 
Bertran  del  Bom,  Part  1,  xxiv,  and  Part  3,  ii  (Thomas),  the 
former  of  which  Guittone  may  have  had  in  mind  in  the 
present  ode.  The  stanzas  are  of  eighteen  lines  ;  lines  6,  7 
are  of  eight  syllables,  and  trochaic  in  cadence;  9,  11,  14,  16, 
17  being  of  seven  syllables;  with  a  comiato  of  fourteen,  in 
which  lines  2,  3,  5,  7,  10,  13  are  short.  Rime-scheme: 
ABBACDDEEFFGHHCIIC. 


NOTES  229 

Stanza  i,  1.  4.  di  ben :  MS.  divene ;  one  might  suggest  di 
ver  grado,  but  ben  gives  a  good  enough  sense.  Note  the 
constant  recurrence  in  these  lines  of  grado  and  kindred  words  ; 
a  trick  very  familiar  in  the  early  poetry,  and  not  unknown  to 
Dante  himself. 

1.  7.  Vat.  MS.  gia  giacere,  probably  a  scribe's  error.  The 
meaning  is  of  course  '  to  see  person  and  property  as  safe  in  the 
woods  as  in  a  castle '. 

1.  11.  a  misagio  refers  to  the  malefactors  mentioned  in  the 
next  line,  '  to  know  that  they  are  uncomfortable '. 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.  Vat.  MS.  Bello  me  savere  dire  chi  vizi  schusa. 
A.R.V.  Bello  m'  i  saver  dir  chi  vizi  scusa,  where  the  editors,  in 
omitting  the  e  of  dire,  have  clearly  missed  the  point. 

1.  3.  reggion  looks  as  if  it  should  be  regno,  which  would 
involve  reading  meno. 

1.  4.    cher :  chiede. 

1.  8.    sae  =  save,  '  tastes '. 

1.  18.     sa  here  =  'knows '. 

Stanza  3, 1. 6.  MS.  campione  chenontortto  difende,  of  course 
an  impossible  line.  If  non  be  omitted,  as  I  think  it  must  be, 
difende  will  mean  '  wards  off',  not  '  defends '. 

1.  8.    ad  un  sol  motto  :  '  without  bargaining '. 

Stanza  4, 1.  5.  che  bella  s'  obria :  •  who  forgets  that  she  is 
pretty '. 

1.  14.  briga  seems  here  to  have  a  milder  sense, '  hard  work '. 
Indeed  we  might  take  briga  e  famiglia  as  a  '  hendiadys ' — '  hard 
household  work  \ 

I.18.  lungiando:  cf.  the  Prov.  lunhar,  to  'remove,'  Fr. 
Eloigner.  —  a  se :  the  use  of  the  dative  is  an  obvious 
Latinism. 

Stanza  5, 1.  1.     Sami :  '  is  to  my  taste '. 

1.  3.    al  cui  spechio  :  '  after  whose  likeness '. 

1.  5.    Parlato  :  '  a  Prelate  '. 

1.  6.     edificio  seems  to  be  metaphorical,  like  our  '  edify '. 

I.  9.     Rilescioso  :  religioso. 

II.  10,  11  are  lacking  in  the  MS.  The  meaning  required  is 
something  like  '  who  after  he  has  taken  up  the  religious  life  .  .  .' 

1.  14.     chercato  :  clericato. 


230  NOTES 

XLVII. 

This  poem  would  seem  to  have  been  written  about  the  time 
of  the  author's  '  conversion ',  being  an  expression  of  contrition 
for  his  past  life,  mingled  with  general  moral  reflections.  There 
is  an  austere  dignity  about  it  which  one  would  have  expected 
to  appeal  to  Dante,  and  one  fails  to  trace  in  it  (unless  possibly 
in  such  forms  as  Parlato,  rilescioso)  the  '  plebeian '  style  which 
was  the  chief  cause  of  Dante's  depreciation  of  Guittone.  The 
stanzas  are  of  eighteen  lines,  except  the  last  two  stanzas,  in 
which  the  rimes  are  similar  to  the  last  twelve  of  the  other 
stanzas,  lines  1 1, 13, 15, 17  of  these  latter  being  of  seven  syllables. 
Rime-scheme:  ABCABCDEEFFGGHHIID. 

Stanza  i,  1.  18.    di  corpo  alma:  'from  body,  soul'. 

Stanza  2, 1.  3.    talenta  :  '  has  a  leaning  towards '. 

1.  6.    gia  :  MS.  giu.    non  gid=f  no  longer  '. 

1.8.  MS.  sonnet 'te  avizi  corftpo  arma  ecore,  sormette, '  places 
above,'  is  clearly  contrary  to  the  sense  of  the  passage,  and  the 
articles  must  be  inserted  to  save  the  metre. 

1.  9.  onde  seems  to  be  equivalent  to  del  qual, '  than  which '. 
MS.  ode. 

H.13,14.  'Where  is  the  champion  who  conquers  where 
every  lord  is  beaten  ? ' 

Stanza  3, 1.  2.  vile  seems  to  weaken  the  antithesis,  and  it 
might  be  better  to  read  di  tutto,  a  very  slight  change  in  the 
ductus  Htterarum. 

1.  7.    fisolafi :  filosofi. 

I.  8.  poi,  though  representing  Lat.  post,  is  rarely  found  as  a 
preposition,  its  place  having  been  taken  by  dopo. 

II.  9-1 1.  Cf.  Purg.  vii.  34-6.  The  Dantesque  character  of 
all  this  passage  will  strike  every  reader. —In  11.  10,  11,  vita  . . . 
vita  can  hardly  stand.     I  would  suggest  in  1.  1 1  ed  aita. 

I.12.  abellire:  'delight',  a  Provencal  word  as  in  Purg. 
xxvi.  140. 

1.  13.    lui:  'Christ'. 

1.  15.    '  For  the  man  does  not  fear  his  lord.' 

Stanza  4, 1.  3.    orato :  onorato. 

1.  6.  rede  may  mean  '  inherits ',  for  reda,  but  e  rede  would 
seem  better. 


NOTES  231 

L  13.  aconciar  :  '  to  trim ',  '  fit  up '.  Cf.  Par.  xxxi.  98.  The 
line  as  it  stands  is  a  syllable  short ;  read  a  lo  ben. 

Stanza  5, 1.  2.  gaudere :  is  there  an  allusion  to  the  name 
of  Frati  Gaudenti  ? 

1.  9.    racattd  :  '  redeemed ',  Fr.  racheta. 

1.  13.  mort'  e:  A.R.V.  morte,  but  the  alteration  in  the  text 
seems  necessary  for  the  sake  of  both  rime  and  reason. 

1.  14.    la:  r alma. 

Stanza  7, 1.  1.  Cavalcante  can  be  no  other  than  he  whom 
Dante  saw  among  the  '  sect  of  Epicurus ',  Inf.  x.  Which,  out 
of  the  many  Lapi  of  Florence,  is  here  referred  to  can  hardly  be 
ascertained ;  it  can  scarcely  be  the  poet  Lapo  Giani,  who  would 
have  been  too  young  at  this  time. 

XLVIII. 

The  following  ode  exists  only  in  the  Laurentian  (Redi's)  MS., 
whence  it  has  been  printed  by  Val.  and  Mon.  It  is  a  lament 
for  a  contemporary  poet,  Giacomo  da  Leona,  of  whom  little 
or  nothing  else  seems  to  be  known.  The  stanzas  are  of  sixteen 
lines,  10,  12,  14  being  of  seven  syllables,  the  rest  of  eleven,  and 
a  comiato  of  ten  lines  as  the  last  ten  of  the  other  stanzas. 
Rime-scheme :  ABCABCDEFFGGHHED. 

Stanza  i,  1.  8.  amarore  ed  amaro:  MS.  amaroso,  but  no 
such  word  seems  to  exist,  and  if  it  did  it  would  be  only  a 
synonym  for  amaro.  With  a?narore  ed  amaro  cf.  piacientier 
piacere,  No.  XLII,  St.  2, 11.  2,  3,  and  valente  valor  in  1.  13. 

I.  11.     condutti:  'guidance',  as  in  Purg.  iv.  29,  Conv.  i.  11. 

II.  12-15.  The  metaphor  in  these  lines  suggests  several  pas- 
sages in  Dante,  bon  (boni)  ghiotti  seems  to  mean  '  greedy ' 
in  a  good  way. 

1.  1 5.  mondan  :  the  regular  term  for  those  who  led  a  worldly 
life.  Thus  Villani,  viii.  10,  in  recording  the  death  of  Brunetto 
Latini,  says  fu  mondano  uomo,  a  phrase  which,  in  the  light  of 
Inf.  xv,  has  a  somewhat  sinister  significance. 

Stanza  2,  1.  2.  piana :  '  plain ',  '  easy '.  This  line  shows 
that  the  frequent  obscurities  which  we  meet  with  in  these  poems 
were  not  in  any  way  due  to  the  writers'  lack  of  power  to  express 


232  NOTES 

themselves,  but  were  deliberately  chosen  as  a  recognized  form 
of  poetic  composition ;  indeed,  the  whole  of  this  passage  throws 
a  light  on  the  poetical  methods  of  the  time.  Giacomo,  it  would 
appear,  preferred  French  and  Provencal  to  his  native  Aretine, 
though  he  could  compose  well  enough  in  the  latter. 

1.  8.  sentitor  bono  seems  to  mean  '  with  a  good  feeling  for 
style '. 

I.  9.  dittator  refers,  no  doubt,  to  choice  of  words.  Cf.  Purg. 
xxiv.  59. 

II.  13,  14.  The  rime-scheme  shows  that  two  lines  are  lacking 
here,  and  another  at  1.  16.  Valeriani  has  placed  1.  15  where 
1.  13  should  be,  and  marked  a  blank  for  the  last  three  lines. 
Mon.  takes  no  notice  of  the  lacunae. 

Stanza  3, 1. 2.  nazione  :  '  birth  '  or  '  birthplace  ',  the  regular 
sense  of  the  word  in  early  Italian,  e.g.  Inf.  i.  105.  It  never, 
I  think,  had  the  sense  which  it  has  since  acquired,  of  '  nation '. 

1.  3.  Val.  di  vil .  .  .  di  car,  Mon.  e  vil .  . .  de  car.  With 
these  readings  priso  must  be  taken  as  '  I  prize  ' ;  I  understand 
it  as  the  participle ;  the  substitution  of  men  for  the  second  piii 
seems  necessary  for  the  sense.  Instances  of  a  similar  con- 
fusion will  be  found  in  Purg.  ix.  17  ;  xxvii.  [II. 

1.  6.  poco  1'  aviso  :  '  I  think  little  of  it '.  Here  again  cf. 
Dante's  theory  of  nobility  in  Conv.  iv. 

1.  7.  destrier  :  '  a  war  horse  '.  Lat.  dextriarius,  '  because 
brought  to  the  rider's  right  side  to  mount,'  says  Diez  (how,  then, 
were  other  horses  mounted  ?). — Cf.  Horace's  est  in  equispairum 
virtus. 

1.  8.    lausor  :  '  praise  '.     Prov.  lauzor. 

1.  9.  ronzin  :  '  a  hack  '.  Eng.  rouncey,  Sp.  rocin,  Fr.  rous- 
sin,  from  late  Lat.  runcinus,  of  which  the  origin  appears  to  be 
uncertain.  A  derivation  from  Ger.  ross  is  suggested  in  Ducange, 
but  this  word  seems  to  have  given  rise  to  another  set  of  deriva- 
tives (Diez  s.v.  rosso).  This  would  hardly  account  for  the  Lat. 
form,  which  is  at  least  as  old  as  Domesday  Book. 

1.  13.    orrar:  onorar. 

1.  15.    or  se  fa,  &c. :  'from  tin  makes  himself  gold '. 

Stanza  4, 1.  3.  It  is  difficult  to  see  the  construction  of  this 
line  ;  it  would  perhaps  be  better  to  read  se.— appo  :  Lat.  apud. 


NOTES  233 

I.  4.  '  Esteem  of  which  alone  is  noble  '  (the  words  di  cui  have 
by  some  error,  for  which  I  cannot  account,  dropped  out  of  the 
beginning  of  the  line). 

II.  9,  10.  Cf.  Horace  again,  Ep.  i.  I.  106,  7  'sapiens  uno 
minor  est  love,  dives,  Liber,  honoratus,  pulcher,  rex  denique 
regum '. 

1.  10.    bealta  :  direct  from  the  French  beautd. 


XLIX. 

Of  Chiaro  Davanzati  only  three  definite  facts  appear  to  be 
known :  that  he  was  a  Florentine,  that  he  fought  in  the  battle 
of  Montaperti,  and  that  he  was  dead  by  1280.  He  has  left 
a  considerable  body  of  verse,  but  Dante  nowhere  mentions  him. 
Like  Fra  Guittone,  he  seems  to  belong  to  the  school  inter- 
mediate between  the  earliest  poets,  who  drew  most  of  their 
inspiration  from  the  Provencal,  and  the  stil  nuovo  of  Dante 
and  his  contemporaries.  His  metrical  forms  and  vocabulary 
are  not  unlike  Fra  Guittone's,  but  his  touch  is  somewhat  lighter. 
The  present  poem  is  probably  an  early  one.  It  consists  of  the 
very  usual  number  of  five  stanzas,  with  the  comiato  of  the 
same  length  as  the  rest.  The  stanzas  are  of  eleven  lines,  3,  6, 
7,  9,  11  being  of  eleven  syllables,  the  rest  of  seven.  Rime- 
scheme:  ABCABCDDEEC. 

Stanza  i,  1.  1.  Chiaro  uses  the  same  opening  line  in 
another  ode,  Vat.  MS.  clxxviii. 

1.  7.  possasi :  subjunctive  because  of  the  preceding  negative. 
Of  the  omission  of  che  we  have  had  more  than  one  example. 

1.  11.  calare :  literally  'to  strike  sail',  from  Greek  xa^v 
through  late  Lat.  chalare  ;  see  Inf.  xxvii.  81. 

Stanza  2,  1.  2.    non  m'  alena  :  '  does  not  give  me  breath '. 

1.  3.  Vat.  MS.  omits  pub  ;  I  have  followed  A.R.V.  con- 
jecturally,  and  doubtless  rightly.  Even  so  the  line  is  a  syllable 
short,  unless  we  are  to  treat  mia  quite  exceptionally  as  a  disyl- 
labic    Perhaps  for  pub  it  would  be  better  to  read  pote. 

1.  5.  vivendo  :  note  the  use  of  the  gerund  in  place  of  the 
infinitive  ;  almost,  though  not  quite,  equivalent  to  our  English 


234  NOTES 

use  of  the  present  participle.  In  this  instance  we  may  render 
either  by  '  living '  or  by  '  to  live '. 

1.  8.    e  :  A.R.V.  e. 

1.  9  lacks  four  syllables  ;  Casini  suggests  CK  e  loco  pien  cP  o ; 
we  want  something  like  e  lo  dover  d'  o.  b.  om  m. — membrato  : 
•  prudent ' ;  a  Prov.  word. 

Stanza  4,  1.  6.  a  le  contrade  :  contrada  means  simply 
'  region '  or  '  district ',  whether  in  town  or  country ;  but  the 
meaning  of  the  word  here  is  not  easy  to  make  out.  It  looks 
almost  as  if  it  referred  specially  to  a  country  district,  but  I  can 
find  no  trace  of  this  special  meaning  elsewhere.  The  poet  is 
absent  from  his  lady,  who  presumably  lives  in  the  town.  The 
word  is  used  again  by  him  in  No.  LI,  St.  I,  but  there  in  its 
ordinary  signification. 

Stanza  5, 1.  3.  MS.  ticonvene.  A.R.V.  riconvene,  which 
leaves  the  line  a  syllable  short  and  devoid  of  sense. 

1.  4.  A.R.V.  d?  cK  altro.  It  seems  better  to  emend  the  MS. 
by  omitting  altro. 

1.  5.  A  syllable  seems  to  be  missing  at  the  beginning  of  the 
line,  but  the  variation  of  the  rhythm  may  be  intentional. 

L. 

This  short  and  simple  poem,  the  style  of  which  suggests  that 
it  was  probably  an  early  one,  shows  occasional  resemblances  to 
No.  IV,  and,  again,  to  '  Acme  and  Septimius ',  the  former  of 
which  probably,  the  latter  possibly,  Chiaro  would  have  read. 
The  stanzas  are  of  twelve  lines,  all  long.  Rime-scheme : 
ABCBCADEFEFD. 

Stanza  i,  1.  6.  nostro  should  almost  certainly  be  vostro, 
bene  being  a  regular  term  for  the  object  of  love.  The  change 
from  the  second  sing,  to  the  second  plur.  need  of  course  give 
no  trouble  :  we  have  had  several  instances  of  it. 

1.  II.    talglia  :  'shape'. 

Stanza  2, 1.  6.    lomera :  lumiera. 

1.  8.  The  form  sia  for  sit  in  second  sing.  pres.  subj.,  if  less 
usual  than  sit,  is  quite  recognized.    See  Diez,  ii,  p.  135. 

1.  10.    piangiendo  lo  comiato  :  '  weeping  my  farewell '. 


NOTES  235 

I.  12.     presente  :  'immediate'. 

Stanza  3, 1.  4.  gravosa  can  only  refer  to  the  lady ;  it  seems 
here  to  mean  '  causing  grief,  or  perhaps  better,  'vexed '. 

II.  4-6.  '  Inasmuch  as  I  know  that  she  is  vexed  with  me, 
so  may  it  (sc.  "  my  absence  ")  be  changed  to  sight  that  I  might 
be  secure  from  all  anger.' 

1.  5.  in  un  vedere :  MS.  avno  redire ;  A.R.V.  a  uno 
vedire;  the  change  from  a  to  in  is  required  for  the  sake  of 
the  metre. 

1.  7.    pertanto :  '  meanwhile '. 

1.  8.    insembra :  insieme. 

1.  10.    Note  membra  impersonal. 


LI. 

This  poem  seems  to  have  been  written  during  the  absence, 
real  or  imaginary,  referred  to  in  the  last.  The  stanzas  are  again 
of  twelve  long  lines.     Rime-scheme  :  ABCABCDEFDEF. 

Stanza  1, 1.  6.  agio  must  be  read  aio  and  scanned  as  one 
syllable. 

1.  7.  dimeno  seems  here  to  differ  little  in  meaning  from 
meno,  '  I  lead,'  or  '  handle  with  movement '  ;  the  origin  of  the 
word  is  obscure,  for  the  derivation  given  by  Diez  from  Lat. 
minari, l  to  threaten,'  is  difficult  to  accept.  Fr.  viener  un  cheval 
is  almost  exactly  '  to  handle  a  horse ',  and  one  is  more  inclined 
to  suspect  some  connexion  with  manus.  At  any  rate  '  handle ' 
will  very  nearly  give  the  meaning  here. 

1.  11.  son  must  stand  for  so  'n.— contrate:  see  note  to 
No.  XLIX,  St.  4, 1.  6. 

Stanza  2,  11.  1-3.  Note  the  Dantesque  character  of  these 
lines  ;  when  the  mind  and  the  intellect  are  invoked  to  take 
a  part  in  the  affairs  of  love  we  begin  to  see  the  dawn  of  the 
so-called  philosophical  school  of  love-poetry. 

1.  6.  riviera :  as  the  next  stanza  shows,  the  bank  of  the 
Arno,  in  Pisan  territory. 

1.  8.     ver  :  for  verso,  prep. :  cf.  Purg.  iii.  51. 

1.  10.  concieduta :  sc.  gioia. — The  lover  apparently  regrets 
that  he  has  won  his  mistress's  favour  so  easily ;  she  has  been 


236  NOTES 

humbled  and  not  overbearing.  The  reader  will  remember 
several  cases  in  which  he  has  rejoiced  in  the  pains  he  has 
suffered. 

Stanza  3,  1.  4.     Here  again  we  must  no  doubt  read  so  '«. 

1.  6.  sia :  subjunctive,  because  of  the  notion  of  uncertainty 
involved ;  '  whenever  that  hour  may  be '. 

1.  11.  cieciero  :  'the  wild  swan  ':  not  connected  with  Latin 
cygnus ;  rather  from  cecinus,  a  late  Latin  word  for  '  a  swan ', 
which  is  said  to  be  from  cicer,  a  'vetch',  from  the  bean-like 
knob  on  the  bill  of  the  bird.  We  may  compare  the  name 
Cicero. 

Stanza  4, 1.  2.  The  syntax  of  this  line  appears  confused. 
The  best  way  to  remedy  it  seems  to  be  to  put  a  comma  after 
diletto ;  sovrana  will  then  come  naturally  back  into  its  agree- 
ment with  rivera. 

1.  3.  Here  again  we  have  two  distinct  clauses,  and  it  might 
be  better  to  put  a  comma  after  gioie.  — orata  :  onorata. 

1.  7.  prolungato  :  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  word 
means  here  merely  '  kept  at  a  distance  ',  or  '  prolonged  '  (sc.  '  in 
absence ') ;  the  former  is  perhaps  preferable. 

1.  1 1 .    solevi :  '  took  off',  '  lightened  \ 

LII. 

This  lamentation  over  the  degeneracy  of  Florence  will  recall 
to  every  reader  Dante's  treatment  of  the  same  subject  in 
Purg.  vi  and  Par.  xv ;  only  that  Dante's  tone  is  more  scorn- 
ful and  less  pitiful  than  that  of  his  predecessor.  The  poem  must 
have  been  written  during  the  struggle  of  Guelfs  and  Ghibelines 
for  ascendancy  ;  for  the  poet  was  dead  before  the  feud  between 
Blacks  and  Whites  had  become  acute.  It  may  be  compared  with 
Fra  Guittone's  ode,  No.  XLV.  But  these  two  poems,  though 
some  resemblance  may  be  traced  between  this  and  Guittone's 
'Ai,  dolze  terra  Aretina',  Val.  ix,  seem  to  be  independent 
of  each  other.  It  has  five  stanzas,  like  most  of  the  canzoni 
written  about  this  period;  each  of  fourteen  lines,  3,7,  11,  13 
being  of  seven  syllables.  In  Stanza  2  the  short  line  is  trans- 
ferred from  11  to  9,  and  in  Stanza  1  I  have  assumed  the  same 


NOTES  237 

to  be  the  case.  Rime-scheme  :  ABBABAABBCCDDE.  The 
last  lines  of  the  stanzas  appear  to  have  no  corresponding  rime, 
and  the  same  is  the  case  with  1.  9  in  Stanzas  3,  4,  5  ;  in  Stanzas 
2,  3,  and  5,  however,  we  find  the  respective  last  lines  riming 
together,  which  looks  as  if  either  the  poet  had  not  given  a  final 
revision  to  his  work,  or  that  something  has  gone  wrong  with  the 
text,  which  is  preserved  only  in  the  Vat.  MS. 

Stanza  1, 1.  8.  Fiorin  :  for  the  foundation  of  Florence  and 
the  acts  of  the  eponymous  hero  Fiorinus,  see  G.  Villani,  i. 
35-8.  That  version,  however,  represents  Caesar  as  naming  the 
city  after  Fiorinus  in  memory  of  his  death  in  battle  with  the 
Fiesolans. — spese :  '  dispensed '. 

1.  II.     rasgioni :  'sorts'. 

1.  12.     ciesati :  cessati  =  'aloof.     Cf.  in  cesso,  Inf.  xxii.  100. 

Stanza  2,  1.  2.  sei  baroni :  as  Casini  points  out,  Villani 
mentions  only  four  baroni  at  the  first  foundation  of  the  city, 
corresponding  to  the  four  quarters  into  which  it  was  then 
divided.  The  division  into  sesti  did  not  take  place  till  after  the 
eleventh  century,  so  that  Chiaro  was  probably  misled  by  the 
circumstances  of  his  own  time. 

1.  5.  fignra  :  probably  the  image  of  S.  John  the  Baptist 
stamped  on  the  florins. 

1.  6.    dal,  and  in  1.  7  da' :  '  suited  to '. 

1.  8.    planeta  di  Leo  :  Mars  ;  cf.  Par.  xvi.  37. 

1.  9.  '  Uncontaminated  from  without  by  rustics,'  di  being 
understood  as  repeated  before  fuor.  The  admission  of  the 
country  families  into  the  city  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  causes 
of  the  decay  of  Florence.  Cf.  il  villan  (PAguglion,  Par.  xvi. 
56  and  11.  67-9. 

1.  11.  According  to  the  rule  of  the  next  three  stanzas,  and 
possibly  the  first,  this  line  is  too  long ;  probably  ed  in  gioia  is 
an  interpolation. 

Stanza  3, 1.  5.    '  Brought  down  into  fealty,'  as  of  a  servant. 

1.  13.    parte  :  '  party ',  in  the  political  sense. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.  nom  posso  is  the  reading  of  the  MS.  I  have 
followed  A.R.V.  in  omitting  nom,  which  seems  to  spoil  both 
sense  and  metre. 

1.  3.    s'  adomilia  :  '  is  humbled '. 


238  NOTES 

1.  6.    '  Dishonoured  and  shamed.'   aii . . .  scans  as  two  syllables. 

I.  8.  schiavonia :  '  slavery '.  The  form  of  the  word  shows 
that  the  origin  of  schiavo,  from  the  people  of  that  race,  was  not 
yet  forgotten. 

II.  9,  io.  Casini  understands  the  filgli  to  be  the  Ghibelines 
and  the  Guelfs,  and  the  due  volte  to  refer  to  the  submission  of 
the  city,  first  to  Frederick  and  then  to  Manfred,  '  the  other '  being 
the  surrender  to  Charles  of  Anjou.  Should  we  not  read  in  1.  9 
da  duo  tuo'  filgli,  putting  a  comma  at  the  end  of  the  line,  and 
taking  altro  .  .  .  altro  to  mean  '  one  '  and  '  the  other '  ?  This 
would  make  11.  10  and  11  sqq.  fit  the  facts  more  appropriately. 

Stanza  5,  1.  4.    losura  must  mean  '  flattery '   or  '  deceit '. 
The  catalogue  of  offences  may  be  well  paralleled  from  Dante. 
1.  1 1 .     contrado  :  contrario. 
1.  14.    veracevia:  cf.  Inf.  i.  12. 


LIII. 

The  following  poem  appears  to  be  based  upon  a  short  piece 
by  Sordello,  '  Bel  cavaler  me  plai  que  per  amor ' ;  though  a  good 
deal  expanded  (Gasp.  S.  P.  S.,  p.  40).  Verbal  coincidences, 
which  will  be  noted  in  their  due  place,  seem  to  preclude  any 
idea  of  its  being  an  independent  composition  on  a  stock  theme. 
It  would  probably  be  an  early  composition  ;  it  consists  of  four 
stanzas  of  fifteen  lines,  with  a  comiato  of  seven,  all  hendeca- 
syllabic.  Rime-scheme:  ABBCABBCDDEEFFD ;  comiato: 
AABBCCA. 

Stanza  1, 1.  1.  Non  gia  per  gioia  c'  agia :  Chiaro  has  used 
the  same  words  for  the  opening  of  another  poem,  V.R.V.,  ccxlii. 
— Non  gia  :  '  no  longer  '. 

11.  7,  8.  '  When  she  who  forgets  it  sees  in  an  example  the 
grief  of  the  good  lover.' — tenne  might  perhaps  be  better. 

11.  9,  10.    Sordello :  '  Pois  cascuna  so  que  no  ere  creiria '. 

1.  11  must  be  taken  as  explanatory  of  miscredente,  'they  have 
wrongly  believed'.  Their  view  seems  to  have  been  that  of 
Rosalind,  As  You  Like  It,  Act  IV,  Scene  i,  '  Men  have  died 
and  the  worms  have  eaten  them,  but  not  for  love '. 


NOTES  239 

1. 12.  cosi  is  not  uncommonly  used  to  introduce  the  expression 
of  a  wish. 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.    mesdire  :  a  French  word. 

I.  3.    noil' :  non  lo. 

1.  10.     Sordello  :  '  van  tarzan  so '. 

1.  II.     dottanza  :  'hesitation'.     Lat.  dtibitantia. 

1.  15.    a  lor :  'to  the  lovers '. 

Stanza  3, 1.  4.    di  paragio  :  '  equally'. 

Stanza  4, 1.  4.  altoregia :  '  raises  on  high  ',  or  possibly  for 
alterezza  (vb.  '  makes  great '  or  '  proud  '). 

1.  10.     nanti :  inanzi. 

1.  12.  Sordello  :  'A  mon  dan  get  lei  e  son  repentir '.  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  Italian  poet  has  given  a  different  turn  to  the 
sentiment. — gitto  :  '  cast  away '. 

LIV. 

Bonagiunta  degli  Orbiciani  of  Lucca  is  well  known  to  all 
readers  of  Dante.  He  is  introduced  in  Purg.  xxiv,  and  into 
his  mouth  are  placed  both  the  obscure  prophecy  as  to  '  non  so 
che  Gentucca'  and  the  famous  criticism  of  the  old  and  new 
styles  of  poetry.  Of  the  old  style,  he  was  one  of  the  latest 
exponents,  and  from  a  sonnet-correspondence  between  himself 
and  Guido  Guinizelli  (of  which  his  is  V.R.V.,  dcclxxxvi, 
while  Guido's  is  preserved  in  the  Chig.  MS.)  he  would  seem 
to  have  been  a  little  ruffled  by  the  pretensions  of  the  new  school. 
This  may  be  the  point  of  the  '  issa  veggio'  of  Purg.  xxiv.  55. 
Benvenuto  of  Imola,  who  had  known  him  personally,  says  that 
he  was  '  an  easy  finder  of  rimes,  but  an  easier  of  wines ',  some- 
thing of  a  ton  vivant,  we  may  guess,  which  would  account  for 
the  position  he  occupies  in  Purgatory.  Dante  refers  to  him 
again,  V.  E.  I.  13,  with  Guittone  and  Gallo  Pisano,  among 
writers  who  never  got  beyond  their  local  mode  of  speech.  The 
present  poem  is  quite  in  the  Provencal  style,  and  may  be  com- 
pared with  No.  XXXIX.  There  are  five  stanzas  of  ten  lines, 
each  of  eight  syllables,  and  therefore  in  a  trochaic  measure. 
Rime-scheme  :  ABABBCDBCD  (in  Stanza  I,  C  is  identical 
with  A). 


240  NOTES 

Stanza  i,  1.  4.    latino :  see  note  to  No.  XXVI,  St.  i,  1.  3. 

1.  8.    rifino :  see  note  to  No.  XVII,  St.  4, 1.  4. 

Stanza  2, 1.  4.  col  chiaro  viso  :  French  term,  as  has  been 
before  noted. 

1.  9.    s'  infingie  :  '  feigns '. 

STANZA  3,  11.  I,  2.  Vat.  MS.  conquise\fiarlando\  but  con- 
quiso  is  needed  for  the  rime,  and  the  a  which  I  have  inserted 
corrects  both  the  grammar  and  the  metre  of  1.  2. 

1.  4.     menando :  cf.  note  to  No.  LI,  St.  1, 1.  7. 


LV. 

This  poem,  which  is  in  structure  not  a  canzone  but  a  ballata, 
is  preserved  in  the  Palatine  MS.  only,  whence  it  has  been  edited 
by  Valeriani  and  Monaci.  The  ballata,  as  its  name  implies, 
was  intended  to  accompany  dancing  ;  and  accordingly  it  opens 
with  a  short  stanza  serving  as  a  prelude  to  the  measure.  Dante 
intended  to  give  an  analysis  of  its  structure  in  the  fourth  book  of 
the  De  Vulgari  Eloquentia,  which  unfortunately  was  never 
written.  In  this  case  the  stanza  proper  is  of  eight  lines,  the 
normal  rhythm  being  as  follows : — 

ww  —  ww  —  ww  —  ww  —  w  four  times 

\J    —         yj        —         v        —    w 

w  —      w     —      w  |  w  —  W  —  W 
—  w  w  —  w 

w   w  —   w   w  —  w   w  —  W 

with  occasional   variations,  which  do  not,  however,  affect  the 
beat.    The  introductory  short  stanza  is  as  follows  :  — 

—  WW  —  WW  —  w 
W   —   WW  —   w   —   w 
w  —  ww  —  w 
—  w  w  —  w 
w  —  ww  —  ww  —  w 

Rime-scheme  :  prelude  :  AABBC  ;  stanzas  :  ABABBCCD  ; 
every  stanza,  including  the  prelude,  ends  with  the  same  rime. 

Prelude,  1  3.  In  the  present  case  it  is  the  lady  who  is  plead- 
ing, contrary  to  the  usual  rule.   The  gender  of  trista  in  Stanza  3, 


NOTES  241 

where  it  occurs  in  rime,  makes  this  clear,  though  the  words  dolce 
meo  sire  would  not  be  sufficient  by  themselves  to  prove  it ; 
since  there  are  instances  in  which  the  language  of  feudal  homage 
is  carried  to  such  a  point  that  the  lover  addresses  the  lady  as 
his  '  lord '. 

1.  4.    ismarrire :  '  confuse ', '  bewilder '.    Inf.  i.  3. 

Stanza  i,  1.  4.  ne  :  the  negative  is  difficult  to  explain ;  it 
may  be  equivalent  to  non  che,  '  not  to  say '.  Val.  gets  over 
the  difficulty  by  boldly-reading  0  lafr.,  0  V gh. 

1.  5.    We  ought  probably  to  read  presa  al  laccio. 

I.  6.  stranianza :  '  estrangement '. — prumera  :  a  not  un- 
common form  iox  primer  a. 

II.  7,  8.     Another  reference  to  the  fable  of  the  leopard. 
Stanza  2, 1.  7.    'ncrescenza  :  possibly  'vexation  ',  but  more 

probably  only  '  increase  '. 

Stanza  3, 1.  6.  mi  rinfrangesse  :  we  might  say  '  were  to 
break  up  in  my  hands '.  The  word  is  doubtless  an  echo  of  the 
frangente  in  the  last  stanza. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.  It  is  hard  to  say  what  distinction  the  poet 
would  draw  between  the  exact  meanings  of  viso  and  ciera ; 
possibly  the  first  is  the  actual  face,  the  latter  the  expression, 
the  '  cheer '. 

1.  6.    ci :  usually  with  plural  meaning,  but  here  singular. 

LVI. 

The  chief  thing  to  note  in  this  poem  is  the  extreme  smoothness 
of  its  flow ;  otherwise  it  is  little  more  than  an  exercise  on  the 
Provencal  model.  It  is  probably  an  early  composition  of  the 
writer's.  The  stanzas  are  of  fourteen  lines,  2,  5,  9,  13  being  of 
seven  syllables,  the  rest  long.  Rime-scheme :  A  ('  a '  in  Stanzas 
2  and  3)  BbC  ABbC  DEEdFDEEF.  The  internal  rimes  vary 
a  little  between  D  and  E. 

Stanza  2,  11.  5,  6.  Vat.  MS.  che  diferenza  amore  .  no\ne 
prenditore  .  di,  &c.  The  slight  rearrangement  which  I  have 
adopted,  together  with  the  substitution  of  senz '  essi  for  diferenza 
(the  actual  letters,  it  will  be  seen,  are  almost  exactly  the  same), 
seems  to  restore  sense,  metre,  and  rime.  '  Love  without  these 
things  cannot  get  its  true  fulfilment.' 

BUTLER  R 


242  NOTES 

LVII. 

This  piece  consists  of  three  stanzas  of  fifteen  lines  each,  10, 
12,  14  being  hendecasyllables,  while  the  last  is  alexandrine, 
a  very  rare  feature  in  these  poems ;  the  remainder  are  of 
the  usual  shorter  form  of  seven  syllables.  Rime-scheme : 
ABBC  ABBC  CDDEEFF. 

Stanza  2, 11. 3, 4.  See  Purg.  xxvi.  144,  an  instance  of  the  way 
in  which  Dante  took  the  troubadour  commonplaces  and  digni- 
fied them. 

1.  14.    varia  :  cond.  of  valere. 


LVII  I. 

The  only  authority  for  assigning  this  poem  to  Bonagiunta  is 
the  Giunta  edition  of  1527,  in  which  it  first  appeared  in  print. 
No  MS.  of  it  seems  at  present  to  be  known.  It  was  afterwards 
reprinted  by  Valeriani ;  the  spelling  has  probably  been  a  good 
deal  modified  to  suit  the  polite  readers  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
It  is  difficult  to  form  any  judgement  as  to  its  authenticity  from 
internal  evidence,  both  the  vocabulary  and  the  manner  of  the 
earlier  writers,  with  whom  Bonagiunta  must,  as  regards  style,  be 
classed,  having  so  many  features  in  common,  but  it  may  as  well 
be  his  as  another's.  Both  the  five  stanzas  and  the  short  comiato 
would  indicate  that  it  was  written  at  least  after  1260,  when  these 
two  features  seem  to  have  become  usual.  The  stanzas  are  of 
twelve  lines,  2,  5,  8,  9,  10  being  of  seven  syllables.  Rime- 
scheme  :  ABCABCDDEEFF — an  arrangement  which  is  some- 
what characteristic  of  Bonagiunta. 

Stanza  1, 1.  12.  grana:  •  cochineal ',  from  the  grain-like  ap- 
pearance of  the  insects  from  which  the  dye  is  made. 

Stanza  2, 1.  4.  se  non  com' :  •  any  more  than  does '.  So 
the  lover  in  the  contemporary  English  ballad, '  Bytune  Mersshe 
and  A veril,'  speaks  of  himself  as  •  wery  so  water  in  wore ',  i.e. 
'  weary  as  water  in  a  weir '. 

I.  6.    ammorza  :  '  kills '. 

II.  7-9.  Cf.  the  opening  lines  of  the  sonnet  Tanto  gentile^ 
V.  N.  xv. 


NOTES  243 

1.  11.  spera:  see  note  to  No.  IX,  St.  1, 1.  7.  The  term  is 
obviously  applied  here  to  the  lady,  not  to  the  sun. 

I.  12.  stella:  the  use  of  siella  for  'star'  in  the  abstract, 
where  we  should  say  '  stars ',  may  be  paralleled  from  the  can- 
zone Donna  pietosa,  V.  N.  §  23,  St.  4, 1.  8. 

Stanza  3,  1.  3.  ancor  vivessi :  '  although  I  was  alive'.  The 
omission  of  che  is  of  course  common  enough. 

II.  4-12.  Cf.  the  opinion  expressed  by  Fra  Guittone  in  No. 
XLIII,  St.  3. 

1.  12.     di  scarso  largo  :  cf.  di  larga  parca,  Par.  viii.  82. 
Stanza  5, 1,  6.    me  should  probably  be  nC  k. 

I.  9.  costumanza :  '  good-breeding ' ;  the  passive  sense  is 
rare,  but  it  turns  up  in  the  negative  scostumato :  '  ill-bred '. 

Comiato,  1.  2.     '  In  respect  to  that  which  is  to  be  said.' 

II.  4-6.  '  It  does- not  seem  to  me  knowledge  if,  wishing  to 
speak  of  her  whole  form,  I  succeeded  in  praising  one  member 
only.' 


LIX. 

Pucciandone  Martelli  was  a  contemporary  of  Fra  Guittone, 
one  of  whose  letters  is  addressed  to  him.  He  is  mentioned  by 
Trissino  in  the  Poetica,  and  by  Redi.  The  present  piece  was 
printed  by  Villarosa  and  Valeriani,  who  probably  took  it  from 
Redi's  (now  the  Laurentian)  MS.  From  its  style  and  diction  this 
piece  would  appear  to  belong  to  a  date  not  very  long  after  1250. 
It  is  in  form  a  ballata  with  a  prelude  of  two  lines,  and  five 
stanzas  of  eight  lines,  each  of  eleven  syllables.  Rime-scheme : 
prelude  :  AaB  ;  stanzas :  ABABABCcD.  Each  member,  includ- 
ing the  prelude,  ends  with  the  same  rime,  -ente,  which,  curiously 
enough,  is  that  of  the  equivalent  lines  in  No.  LV. 

Stanza  i,  1.  i.  mi  membra  :  '  comes  to  my  mind ' ;  of 
a  similar  use  of  membrare  we  have  already  had  instances.  Here 
the  construction  is  somewhat  unusual,  belta  being  at  once  the 
subject  of  membra  and  the  object  of  vedere. 

1.  3.    fa  porto  :  '  harbours '. 

Stanza  2, 1.  7.  parliedi :  Val.  parlieri,  but  this  does  not 
agree  with  the  internal  rime,  e  di,  in  the  next  line.    The  d  for  r 

R  2 


244  NOTES 

may  be  paralleled  by  chiedo  for  chiero.  The  evil  speakers  as 
obstacles  to  true  love  have  been  noticed  before.  See  note  to 
No.  XXXIX,  St.  6, 1.  6. 

Stanza  4, 1.  7.  abandono :  Val.  abondanza,  which  again 
misses  the  internal  rime ;  the  emendation  is  pretty  obvious. 
The  meaning  seems  to  be  'the  tongue  which  would  speak 
should  be  as  unfettered  as  I  am  in  loyalty  towards  you '. 

Stanza  5, 1.  1.  mi  laudo  d'  amor :  for  this  reflexive  use  of 
laudare  cf.  Inf.  ii.  74,  '  di  te  mi  loderb '. 

1.  2.  intendimento  :  '  aim ' ;  the  second  intendimento  in 
1.  4  meaning  probably  '  understanding '. 

LX. 

Guido,  the  son  of  Guinizello  de'  Principi,  of  Bologna,  owes  his 
great  reputation  chiefly  to  the  estimate  formed  of  him  by 
Dante,  who  frequently  refers  to  him  in  terms  of  unstinted 
eulogy.  Meeting  him  in  Purgatory  (xxvi.  92  sqq.),  he  speaks 
of  him  as  his  father,  and  the  father  of  others  '  who  had  ever 
used  rimes  of  love  \  The  term  padre,  it  is  interesting  to  note, 
had  been  applied  by  Guido  himself  in  one  of  his  early  sonnets 
to  Fra  Guittone.  In  V.  E.  I.  ix  he  is  mentioned  with  various 
1  doctores ',  such  as  Giraut  de  Bornelh,  Thierry,  King  of 
Navarre,  and  others,  who  have  sung  of  love ;  in  I.  xv  he  is 
1  maximus  Guido  Guinizelli ' ;  and  in  II.  v  he  again  comes  in 
with  the  other  '  doctores ',  and  reference  is  made  to  his  famous 
ode  Al  cor  gientil.  No  very  great  body  of  his  work  has  sur- 
vived ;  only  three  of  his  canzoni  are  given  in  V.R.V.  Valeriani 
prints  these,  with  six  others,  some  perhaps  of  doubtful  authen- 
ticity. The  Principi  were  Ghibeline  in  politics,  and  Guido  him- 
self was  one  of  the  victims  of  the  expulsion  of  his  party  from 
Bologna  in  1274,  when  he  is  said  to  have  gone  to  Verona.  The 
dates  of  his  birth  and  death  are  quite  uncertain  ;  the  former  was 
probably  somewhere  about  1230,  while  of  the  latter  we  can  only 
say  with  certainty  that  it  must  have  taken  place  before  1300. 
In  1270  he  is  known  to  have  been  Podesta  of  Castelfranco, 
in  the  Trevisan,  in  the  territory  of  Verona. 

The  present  poem  is  a  string  of  the  early  commonplaces. 


NOTES  245 

The  stanzas  are  of  twelve  lines,  all  seven  syllables.  Rime- 
scheme  :  ABCABC  DEEDDE.  In  Stanza  5,  C  and  D  are 
identical,  and  the  rime-scheme  of  the  last  six  lines  is  CAACCA. 

Stanza  2,  1.  3.  in  altura  :  as  we  speak  of  '  on  the  high 
seas '. 

Stanza  3, 11.  1-3.    Cf.  Inf.  ix.  67,  68. 

11.  6,  7.  Vat.  MS.  arde,  and  chetrova,  making  both  lines 
a  syllable  short. 

I.  7.    iloco  :  '  in  the  place '.    Lat.  in  loco. 

1.  9.  s'  acolglie  :  '  meet  together '.  The  use  of  a  singular 
verb  with  a  plural  subject,  though  always  rare,  is  more  usual 
when  the  verb  precedes.  Wiese  quotes  an  instance  from  the 
Notary,  A.R.V.  iii.  46. 

I.  II.  stiza :  stizzare,  '  to  stir  up ',  from  stizzo,  tizzo  {Inf.  xiii. 
40) ;  from  Lat.  titio,  '  a  fire-brand  ' ;  so  Fr.  attiser. — um  poco  : 
im  would  probably  be  better. 

Stanza  4, 1.  12.  'Painting  the  air';  as  futile  an  operation 
as  '  ploughing  the  sand  '. 

Stanza  5, 1.  8.    solo  must  be  read  as  sol. 

LXI. 

This  appears  to  be  the  poem  of  which  the  opening  words  are 
quoted  in  V.  E.  I.  xv  as  Madonna,  il  fermo  core.  The  error 
(if  it  is  one)  is  probably  not  Dante's,  but  that  of  the  scribe  of  one 
of  the  few  MSS.  which  have  come  down  to  us,  whose  error  was 
followed  by  others.  From  its  length  and  regular  structure  of 
long  stanzas  with  comiato,  it  would  seem  to  belong  to  a  later 
period  of  the  poet's  life  than  the  last,  though  it  is  far  from 
having  reached  the  stil  nnovo.  It  bears,  on  the  other  hand, 
some  affinity  to  the  manner  of  Fra  Guittone,  of  whom,  in 
his  earlier  days,  Guido  was  an  admirer.  The  stanzas  are 
of  twelve  lines,  3,  6,  8,  io  being  short.  Rime-scheme  : 
ABCABC  DDEEFF.     Comiato  :  AABBCC. 

Stanza  1, 1.  1.  The  opening  words  are  practically  identical 
with  those  of  No.  XXXVIII,  which  may  have  misled  the  scribe 
of  the  Vat.  MS.,  so  that  fermo  core  may  possibly  be  the  true 
reading. 


246  NOTES 

Stanza  2, 1.  8.    a  grave  meso :  '  placed  in  a  difficulty  '. 

1.  9.    degia  must  be  scanned  as  one  syllable. 

Stanza  3, 1.  2.    amore  amaro  :  cf.  No.  XLVIII,  St.  1, 1.  8. 

1.  12.  istea  sevale  :  so  the  MS.,  but  it  is  difficult  to  get  any 
sense  out  of  the  words,  the  meaning  of  which  can  only  be  '  let 
him  stand  if  he  is  worthy '. 

Stanza  4, 11.  4,  5.  The  words  are  not  unlike  those  of  Purg. 
xvi.  89,  90,  though  the  sense  is  a  little  different. 

1.  7.  e  vanne :  MS.  evene,  but  the  plural  is  needed,  and 
vanne,  '  go  their  way,'  gives  a  better  sense.  This  notion  of  all 
his  vertuti  leaving  him  and  passing  to  the  lady  to  join  their  kin 
is  thoroughly  Dantesque. 

1.  II.     assai  should  obviously  be  saggi  or  sain. 

1.  12.  parte  :  again  almost  in  the  political  sense,  like  the 
Psalmist's '  congregation  of  the  wicked  '. 

Stanza  5, 1.  2.    See  No.  XXI,  St.  5, 11.  1-8. 

Stanza  6, 1.  7.    sagio :  '  test '  or  '  proof ;  '  assay '. 

Stanza  7,  1.  2.  dismisura  :  '  superabundance  ' ;  used  by 
Dante  in  the  sense  of  lack  of  moderation,  Inf.  xvi.  74  and 
Purg.  xxii.  35. 

1.  3.    forfalsitate  :  that  which  is  outside  falsehood. 

1.  4.    'n  cio  che  fatico :  '  all  the  trouble  I  take  '. 

1.  5.  possa  drittura  seems  to  mean  'has  the  power  of  or 
'  is  capable  of '  justice,  but  the  use  of  potere  in  this  qtiasi- 
transitive  sense  seems  to  be  very  unusual. 

1.  11.    tello  :  tenelo. 

1.  12.  See  note  to  No.  XVIII,  St.  2,  1.  1.  'Keep  him  ena- 
moured, that  you  may  refine  him,  then  let  him  give  up  loving, 
and  die.' 

Comiato,  1.  5.  inarato  :  for  inarrato, '  given  earnest  of,'  from 
arra;  hence  'to  make  a  beginning',  as  in  Petr.,  Son.  187. 
The  word  occurs  as  late  as  Ariosto,  e.g.  O.  F.  xvii.  64. 


LXII. 

The  following  poem  is  cited  by  Dante  {V.  E.  ii.  6)  as  a  speci- 
men of  '  sapidus  et  venustus  gradus  constructionis ' ;  the  highest 


NOTES  247 

degree  of  composition,  possessing  both  relish  and  elegance.  The 
latter  merit  it  certainly  has,  though,  so  far  as  the  matter  goes,  it 
does  not  show  much  advance  on  the  conventional  school,  with 
its  feudal  phraseology  and  familiar  turns  of  phrase.  It  is  not  in 
the  Vat.  MS.,  but  is  printed  by  Fiachi,  Val.,  and  Nan.  Monaci 
has  edited  it  from  the  Chigian  MS.  The  stanzas  are  of  ten  lines, 
5,  7, 9  being  of  seven  syllables.  Rime-scheme :  ABABCDCEDE, 
and  the  first  line  of  the  stanza  contains  in  two  cases  an  echo  of 
the  last  line  of  the  preceding. 

Stanza  I,  1.  3.  fen  resmire :  literally  '  gazing  back ' ;  the 
word  seems  to  have  soon  dropped  out  of  use,  its  place  being 
taken  by  risguardo.  Mon.  fe  rensmire,  but  a  plural  verb  is 
clearly  needed.  It  will  be  noted  that  there  is  no  direct  predicate 
to  occhi. 

1.  5.  en  :  sono,  as  frequently  ;  plural  formed  directly  from  the 
singular.     So  Purg.  xvi.  121. 

1.  8.  baronia  seems  here  to  mean  the  body  of  vassals  dwelling 
in  the  barony. 

1.  9.    usar  forza  :  '  go  to  war '. 

Stanza  2, 1.  2.  di  neente :  '  in  no  measure  '. — The  idea  in 
these  lines  is  in  some  ways  parallel  to  that  in  V.  N.  xi,  though 
the  imagery  is  somewhat  different.  In  that  case  the  '  spirits '  of 
sight  are  driven  out  by  Love,  who  takes  their  place ;  here  the 
eyes  offer  no  resistance  to  the  lady's  glance,  which  pierces 
straight  through  to  the  heart. 

I.  8.  niente :  note  that  the  B  rime  is  continued  into  the 
second  division  of  the  stanza  with  a  repetition  of  niente ;  sug- 
gesting that  a  final  revision  had  not  been  given  to  the  poem. 

II.  9,  10.  Cf.  11.  5-8  of  the  sonnet  Tanto  gentile,  V.  N.  xxvi. 
Only  there  the  lady  is  not  disdegnosa  but  d'  humilta  vestuta ; 
an  instance  of  the  way  in  which  Dante  had  improved  upon  the 
feminine  ideal  of  his  predecessors. 

Stanza  3,  11.  3,  4.  Cf.  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  'You  meaner 
beauties  of  the  night  \ 

1.  5.     Mon.  Ck'  ellei  Zno. 

Stanza  4, 1.  5.  s'  apariscie  should  obviously  be  si  spariscie, 
1  night  flies  before  her '. 

1.  7.     solarisce  :  the  other  texts  all  have  sclarisce,  and  I  regret 


248  NOTES 

that  I  cannot  now  produce  my  authority  for  the  reading  I  have 
adopted  ;  it  may  indeed  be  due  to  an  error  of  the  press. 

1.  10.    pareggia  :  'matches'. 

Stanza  5, 1.  2.  este :  for  I.  This  quasi- Latin  form  has  oc- 
curred more  than  once  already,  e.  g.  in  Stanza  1  of  No.  XL,  where 
it  happens  to  be  also  coupled  with  the  pronoun  este.  It  is  used 
by  Dante  in  Par.  xxiv.  141,  where  the  MSS.  vary  between  sunt 
et  este  and  sono  et  este,  the  great  preponderance  of  MS.  authority 
being  for  sono,  which  I  am  now  inclined  to  think  is  more  likely 
to  be  the  right  reading.  At  all  events  it  shows  that  este  as 
a  recognized  Italian  form  was  familiar  to  the  early  scribes. 

1.  4.    'ste :  here  the  plural  feminine  of  esto. 


LXIII. 

This  poem,  again,  is  quite  in  the  early  style,  opening  with  the 
well-worn  discussion  as  to  the  nature  of  love,  and  ending  with 
the  equally  well-worn  appeal  to  the  lady  to  lay  aside  her  pride 
and  show  him  pity,  with  allusions  to  ill-requited  service.  The 
stanzas  are  of  eleven  lines,  2,  5,  7,  8,  9  being  of  seven  syllables. 
Rime-scheme:  ABCABCCDDEeF.  F  recurs  at  the  end  of 
each  stanza. 

Stanza  i,  1.  3.    movimento  :  cf.  the  first  line  of  No.  I. 

1.  8.  volendo :  note  again  the  use  of  the  gerund  for  the 
infinitive;  the  use  may  be  exactly  paralleled  in  colloquial 
English,  '  It  is  a  great  mistake,  wishing  to  do  so  and  so'. 

Stanza  2,  1.5.  abbenda:  'binds',  'wraps';  Prov.  bendar 
in  the  same  sense,  from  German  binde,  our  '  band '.  Voc.  Cruse, 
gives  two  examples,  both  in  the  sense  of  surgical  binding,  but  in 
the  present  passage  the  lines  following  seem  to  suggest  that  it 
may  have  had  some  horticultural  signification,  though  I  can  find 
nothing  to  confirm  this.    Florio  :  '  to  skarfe ',  *  to  swathe '. 

1.  9.  isdutto  seems  here  to  mean  'misled'. 

Stanza  3,  1.  6.  tortura:  this  word  is  used  by  Dante  in 
Purg.  xxv.  109,  where  there  has  been  some  debate  as  to  its 
meaning,  one  modern  commentator  asserting  that  it  is  not 
found  in  early  Italian  in  the  sense  of  '  torture '.    There  cannot 


NOTES  249 

be  much  doubt  that  that  is  the  meaning  here,  though  it  might 
possibly  be  contended  that  it  signifies  only  '  wrong'. 

1.  7.    calura  :  'hot  desire'. 

1.  8.    meritato  :  '  rewarded '. 

Stanza  4, 1.  7.    avvene :  '  it  happens '. 

1.  10.  allotta :  for  allora;  used  several  times  by  Dante, 
who  also  has,  in  Inf.  xxi.  112,  otta  for  ora.  The  words  are 
etymologically  quite  unconnected,  otta  being  apparently  from 
a  Teutonic  root. 

1.  11.  merta  ogni  scoglio  :  apparently  'repays  every 
obstacle ' ;  scoglio  in  its  usual  sense  of  '  a  rock  in  the  sea '. 


LXIV. 

This  noble  ode,  so  far  superior  to  everything  else  of  Guinizelli's 
that  has  remained  to  us  that  it  is  difficult  to  recognize  it  as  the 
work  of  the  same  person  who  has  left  us  the  pleasing  trivialities 
which  precede  it,  is  doubtless  his  main  title  to  fame.  It  must 
have  been  this  that  earned  for  him  the  filial  regard,  as  it  were, 
of  Dante,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  the  great  influence  it  had  upon 
Dante's  own  early  poetry.  It  is  only  necessary  to  refer,  for 
examples  of  his  influence  with  him,  to  the  sonnet  of  V.  N.  xx, 
'Amor  e  '1  cor  gentil  sono  una  cosa,'  and  the  discussion  of 
gentilezza  in  Conv.  iv  and  the  accompanying  canzone.  The 
whole  poem,  indeed,  is  one  which  Dante  need  not  have  been 
ashamed  to  own.  So  little  of  the  author's  work  remains  to  us 
that  we  cannot  say  whether  the  poem  marks  a  real  revolution  in 
his  poetic  method,  or  is  merely  a  solitary  inspiration,  such  as 
worse  poets  than  Guido  sometimes  enjoyed.  But,  such  as  it  is, 
it  remains,  both  for  thought  and  style,  one  of  the  masterpieces 
of  Italian  lyric  poetry.  It  is  preserved  in  several  manuscripts 
besides  the  Vatican,  and  was  printed,  probably  for  the  first  time, 
in  the  Giunta  edition  of  1527. 

The  poem  consists  of  six  stanzas  of  ten  lines  each,  lines  5,  7,  9 
being  short.    Rime-scheme :  ABABCDCEDE. 

Stanza  1, 1. 1.  ripara :  Vat.  MS.  rimpaira  ;  Mon.,  following 
Barberini  MS.,  refiadria,  sc.  ripatria, '  seeks  its  home,'  a  beautiful 


250  NOTES 

reading  which  one  would  like  to  retain,  but  ripara  has  the  weight 
of  authority.  Bembo,  Prose,  i,  says  that  the  word  is  Provencal, 
and  the  reading  of  the  Vat.  MS.  comes  very  near  to  the  Prov. 
repairar  (Fr.  repaire,  our  '  repair '),  which,  according  to  Diez, 
however,  is  a  different  word  and  comes  from  the  Latin  repatriare ; 
whileparar  and  its  compounds  are  from  LaX.parare,  'to  prepare,' 
1  make  ready,'  from  which  the  sense  of '  defence '  arose.  Castel- 
vetro  takes  Bembo  to  task  for  supposing  that  riparare  can  stand 
for  albergare  simply,  and  says  that  it  always  involves  the  meaning 
of  'defence '.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  two  words  have  become 
confused  to  some  extent  in  meaning,  and  we  may  still,  if  we  like, 
believe  that  the  idea  in  the  poet's  mind  was  rather  '  seeks  its 
home '  than  '  has  its  abode '  or  •  place  of  defence '.  If  indeed  he 
had  intended  the  latter,  would  he  not  have  used  nel  rather 
than  al  ? 

1.  7.  No  variant  to  this  line  appears  to  exist,  yet  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  accept  it  exactly  as  it  stands,  as  sole  appears  to  be 
used  in  an  identical  sense  with  that  of  1.  5  ;  nor,  we  may  imagine, 
would  the  poet  have  so  definitely  contradicted  the  received  order 
of  creation,  in  which  light  certainly  did  exist  before  the  sun. 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.  Here  again,  as  in  Stanzas  3  and  5,  we  have 
the  last  word  of  the  preceding  stanza  echoed  ;  that  this  is  missing 
in  the  other  two  cases  seems  to  show  that  either  the  poem  had 
not  its  author's  final  revision,  or  that  the  version  which  we  have 
does  not  show  this. — aprende  :  the  regular  word  for  '  catching ', 
as  of  fire.    Cf.  Inf.  v.  100,  an  obvious  echo  of  this  line. 

1.  3.  stella  must  mean  here  '  the  heavenly  spheres '  gene- 
rally, by  the  movements  of  which  human  affairs  are  directed ; 
but  the  idea  that,  in  order  that  their  effects  might  be  manifested, 
the  co-operation  of  the  sun  was  needed,  seems  to  be  peculiar  to 
the  poet.  The  idea  is  that  the  sun  first  purifies,  and  then  the 
star  imparts  its  virtue. 

1.  6.    ell':  sc.  cosa. 

Stanza  3, 1.  2.  doppiero :  '  the  wick  of  a  candle ',  from  Lat. 
duplarius,  because  formed  of  two  twisted  strands. 

1.  3.  The  line  as  it  stands  is  too  long  by  a  syllable ;  we  should 
doubtless  read  clar,  or  with  Mon.  chiar. 

1.  4.    fero :  untamed. 


NOTES  251 

1.  6.  fa :  the  use  of  fare  as  a  substitute  for  a  preceding  verb 
is  common  enough  in  Italian,  just  as  '  do  '  in  English.  Wiese, 
Part  iii,  §  21,  gives  other  instances. 

1.  8.    prende  rivera  :  '  comes  to  shore '. 

1. 10.  damas:  '  adamant ',  that  is  '  diamond,'  as  in  Par.  ii.  33. 
The  notion  that  the  diamond  was  a  product  of  iron  mines  was 
not  uncommon. 

Stanza  4,  1.  3.  Cf.  the  canzone  to  Conv.  iv,  St.  2,  1.  10. — 
torno  :  cf.  our  use  of  '  I  turn  out '. 

I.  6.  fuor  di  coragio  :  '  apart  from  the  heart ' ;  almost  equi- 
valent to  '  courage ',  but  in  a  wider  meaning. 

Stanza  5,  1. 1.  intelligenzia  del  cielo :  here  we  are  getting 
very  much  on  Dante's  ground,  though  we  have  not  yet  got  to  the 
distribution  of  the  '  intelligences '  among  the  different  heavens. 
Cf.  Par.  xxviii.  78 ;  and,  with  this  and  the  following  line,  Par. 
ix.  62. 

1.  3.  oltre  cielo :  here  again  we  have  the  same  word  in  the 
same  meaning  repeated  in  rime ;  presumably  to  avoid  this, 
Nan.  reads  oltra  7  velo,  which  somewhat  weakens  the  sense. 

I.  4.  tole  :  for  tolle  or  toglie,  *  takes  its  obedience ' ;  togliere 
generally  has  the  meaning  of  'to  take  away',  but  its  use  for 
4  take '  simply  is  not  unusual :  e.  g.  Par.  xv.  98.  It  seems, 
however,  to  have  puzzled  the  editors,  who  have  suggested  such 
alterations  as  cole  and  vole. 

II.  5-10.  This  somewhat  audacious  comparison  between  the 
attributes  of  the  lady  and  of  the  Deity  himself  is,  as  will  be 
seen,  challenged  and  excused  in  the  next  stanza. 

1.  10.    disaprende  :  '  fails  to  take  fire '. 

Stanza  6, 1. 1.  Donna  :  this  word  clearly  refers  to  the  lady, 
whoever  she  may  have  been,  to  whom  the  poem  is  addressed, 
and  forms  no  part  of  the  words  put  into  God's  mouth,  as  has 
been  sometimes  understood,  the  use  of  the  feminine  address 
being  justified  by  the  feminine  of  alma.  But  this  notion  appears 
intolerably  grotesque,  and  the  mi  dira  cuts  us  off  so  completely 
from  alma  in  1.  2  as  to  make  it  inconceivable  that  the  two  can 
have  any  connexion. 


252  NOTES 

LXV. 
Of  Onesto  of  Bologna  very  little  is  known.  Nannucci  tells  us 
that  his  name  occurs  in  various  local  documents,  the  latest  being 
dated  September  24, 1301.  Nor  has  much  of  his  poetry  survived 
(the  Vat.  MS.,  for  example,  contains  nothing  of  his),  which  is 
all  the  more  curious  as  he  was  evidently  reckoned  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  Bologna  poets.  Dante  mentions  him 
in  V.  E.  I.  xv,  with  Guinizelli  and  others,  as  writing  in  a  language 
which  was  not  the  Bolognese  dialect,  and  quotes  a  line  from 
a  poem  of  his  which  appears  to  be  lost.  Lorenzo  de'  Medici, 
as  will  have  been  seen  in  the  Preface,  coupled  him  with  the 
'  Sicilians ',  and  thought  that  his  work  would  have  been  all  the 
better  for  a  little  more  polish.  Bembo,  again,  names  him  among 
the  illustrious  poets  of  the  first  age.  He  had  a  sonnet-corre- 
spondence with  Cino  of  Pistoia.  Valeriani  gives  a  few  of  his 
pieces,  but  with  no  indication  as  to  the  source  whence  he  took 
them.  I  have  taken  the  following  from  his  collection.  It  is 
still  very  much  on  the  old  lines,  and  shows  no  trace  of  the  stil 
nuovo,  though  on  the  whole  the  structure  is  somewhat  more 
compact,  and  the  diction  simpler  than  that  of  the  Sicilians. 
The  stanzas  are  of  ten  lines,  6  and  8  being  of  seven  syllables ; 
the  first  line  of  each  stanza  more  or  less  repeats  the  last  of  the 
preceding.     Rime-scheme:  ABBACCDDEE. 

Stanza  i,  1.  i.    taupino :  see  note  to  No.  XXXIII,  St.  2, 1. 1. 

1.  6.  poia  :  poggia  ;  from  Lat.  podium,  *  a  hill,'  whence  the 
original  meaning  '  to  climb ' ;  thence  '  to  prop  up '  or  '  to  lean 
against',  as  in  Inf.  xx.  25,  xxix.  73.     Fr.  appuyer. 

1.  10.     ad  uopo  meo :  '  for  my  needs '. 

Stanza  2, 1.  3.    a  mia  rincontra :  ■  to  my  own  hindrance '. 

1. 9.  The  phraseology  somewhat  reminds  one  of  Romans  vii.  23, 
while  the  comparison  of  the  lover's  condition  to  death,  which 
occurs  in  this  poem,  especially  II.  5-7  of  the  next  stanza,  and  is 
a  commonplace  throughout,  may  possibly  have  been  suggested 
by  the  following  verse.  Dante  was  not  the  only  poet  of  that 
age  who  knew  his  Bible. 

Stanza  3, 1.  6.  gli  must  refer  to  anima ;  though  an  inter- 
change of  genders  in  the  pronoun  is  occasionally  found,  it  might 
be  better  to  read,  as  suggested,  /'. 


NOTES  253 

Stanza  5, 11.  2  sqq.  The  appeal  to  other  ladies  to  plead  the 
lover's  cause  is  a  common  feature,  and  an  echo  of  it  may 
perhaps  be  found  in  Purg.  xxx.  96. 

1.  10.  gliel  refers  to  the  lady.  It  must  be  noted  that  this 
compound  is  indeclinable  and  serves  equally  for  both  genders. 


LXVI. 

This  poem  is  printed  in  the  collection  of  1 527.  It  is  a  ballatat 
and,  in  spite  of  its  somewhat  doleful  theme  and  language,  is 
written  in  a  lively,  tripping,  anapaestic  metre.  It  has  the  usual 
prelude,  of  three  lines,  and  stanzas  of  seven  lines.  Rime-scheme  : 
prelude :  AaBbC  ;  stanzas :  AaBBAaCcDdE.  The  final  lines 
of  the  prelude  and  stanzas  rime  together,  after  the  usual  ballata 
fashion. 

Stanza  1, 1.  2.    Giunta  :  non  sono  oso  .  .  .  ripensare. 

1.  5.  Giunta:  stato  gravoso.  I  have  transposed  the  words, 
at  the  cost  of  a  slight  halt  in  the  line,  so  as  to  get  the  internal 
rime  into  its  proper  place. 

Stanza  2, 1.  7.  The  meaning  is  not  very  clear,  for  how  could 
'  pity '  do  wrong  to  '  favour '  or  '  requital ',  which  is  the  general 
meaning  of  tnerzl  ?  Should  we  not  read  a  pietanza  merzl  ? 
'  Favour  did  wrong  to  pity,'  i.  e.  '  was  not  granted  as  pity 
demanded '. 

Stanza  3,  1.  4.  casso  :  '  breast ',  as  in  Purg.  xxiv.  72, 
literally  '  chest ',  from  Lat.  capsus,  and  so  exactly  equivalent  to 
our  English  word. 

Stanza  4, 1.  1.    si  sciovra  :  '  ceases  to  work ',  Lat.  exoperari. 

1.  2.  meve  :  the  use  of  this  archaic  form,  like  that  of  the 
futures  in  -aggio  above,  seems  to  indicate  an  early  date  for  this 
poem. 

LXVI  I. 

With  Guido,  son  of  Cavalcante  Cavalcanti,  we  pass  into  the 
domain  of  authentic  history.  His  life  was  nearly  or  quite 
co-extensive  with  the  latter  half  of  the  thirteenth  century,  during 
the  later  years  of  which  he  took  a  prominent  and,  for  himself, 


254  NOTES 

disastrous  part  in  Florentine  politics.  He  is  of  course  best 
known  to  fame  as  Dante's  closest  friend,  though  he  was  senior 
of  the  two  by  some  ten  or  fifteen  years.  The  friendship  began, 
as  Dante  himself  recounts  in  V.  N.  §  3,  by  Dante's  selection  of 
him  as  one  of  the  poets  to  whom  the  youthful  sonnet '  A  ciascun' 
alma  presa,  e  gentil  core  '  was  sent  for  criticism.  Guido's  reply, 
beginning  '  Vedesti  al  mio  parere  ogni  valore ',  is  preserved. 
'  This,'  says  Dante, '  was  about  the  beginning  of  our  friendship  '. 
Dante  was  then  about  eighteen  years  old.  The  Cavalcanti  were 
a  Guelf  family,  and  at  the  short-lived  truce  which  succeeded 
the  battle  of  Montaperti,  when  efforts  were  made  to  reconcile 
Guelfs  and  Ghibelines  by  means  of  matrimonial  arrange- 
ments, Guido  was  betrothed  to  the  daughter  of  Farinata  degli 
Uberti.  The  marriage  duly  took  place,  and  children  were  born 
of  it.  Like  Dante  himself,  however,  and  most  other  poets  of 
the  time,  Guido  looked  elsewhere  for  his  poetical  inspiration. 
In  V.  N.  §  xxiv  Dante  speaks  of  a  lady  who  was  '  molto  donna 
di  questo  mio  primo  amico ',  and  was  known  as  Primavera,  her 
real  name  being  Giovanna.  She  is  also  referred  to  in  the  sonnet 
'  Guido,  vorrei ',  where  her  name  is  coupled  with  that  of  •  Monna 
Bice  ',  pretty  clear  evidence  that  Guido's  attachment  to  her  was 
as  innocent  as  that  of  Dante  to  Beatrice.  Towards  the  end  of 
his  life,  when  on  an  abortive  pilgrimage  to  Compostella,  which 
got  no  further  than  Nimes,  he  addressed  poems  to  other  ladies, 
real  or  imaginary.  In  June,  1300,  when  the  quarrel  between 
Black  and  White  Guelfs  had  become  acute,  and  civil  war  seemed 
imminent,  the  Priors,  among  whom  was  Dante,  adopted  the 
step  of  banishing  the  leaders  of  both  factions  ;  Guido  with  other 
Whites  was  sent  to  Sarzana.  This  place  proved  so  unhealthy 
that  they  were  soon  allowed  to  return.  But  Guido  was  already 
stricken  for  death,  and  expired  in  the  following  August.  Villani, 
in  recording  this,  speaks  of  him  as  '  filosofo,  virtudioso  uomo  in 
piii  cose,  se  non  ch'  era  troppo  tennero  e  stizzoso '  ('  touchy  and 
prone  to  wrath ') ;  and  this  seems  to  be  the  general  verdict  of 
his  contemporaries.  Dante's  reference  to  him,  Inf.  x.  63,  as 
one  who  despised  Virgil,  and  the  dramatic  scene  which  follows, 
will  be  in  every  one's  memory.  As  a  poet,  Dante  held  him  in 
high  esteem.    He  is  mentioned  in  V.  E.'u  13  among  the  Tuscans 


NOTES  255 

who  avoided  the  turpiloquium  of  their  native  dialect,  and  he  is 
doubtless  also  the  '  uno  Guido '  who  has  taken  away  from 
'  Paltro '  (Guinizelli)  '  the  glory  of  our  language '  (Purg.  xi.  97) ; 
certainly  he,  rather  than  Guinizelli,  was  the  one  to  introduce  the 
philosophical  theory  of  love.  (See  on  this  subject  Mr.  J.  B. 
Fletcher's  essay  in  No.  22  of  the  Harvard  Dante  Society's 
Transactions,  *  The  Philosophy  of  Love  of  Guido  Cavalcanti '.) 

The  present  ode  contains  the  sum  of  his  theory  on  the  subject. 
The  nature  of  love  is  still  the  theme,  but  it  is  handled  in 
a  different  way  from  that  of  the  earlier  poets.  Scholastic  terms 
abound,  and  the  whole  thing  has  a  somewhat  pedantic  flavour. 
It  is  not  in  the  Vat.  MS.,  perhaps  because  it  was  not  written 
when  that  collection  was  made,  but  it  is  in  the  Barberini  and 
the  Chigi ;  Monaci  has  printed  it  from  the  latter.  It  is  also 
in  the  Giunta  selection  of  1527.  It  is  in  the  almost  regulation 
form  of  five  stanzas  with  a  comiato.  The  stanzas  are  of  fourteen 
lines,  the  comiato  of  five,  every  line  being,  as  Dante  has  noted 
in  V.  E.  ii.  12,  hendecasyllabic.  The  rime-scheme  is  somewhat 
complicated  by  many  internal  rimes,  a  reference  to  which  will 
be  found  in  V.  E.  ii.  12 :  zAbbCcDzAbbCcDEeFfGGEeFfGG. 
Comiato:  ABbAaCC. 

Stanza  1, 1.  2.  '  The  thing  that  befalls  and  is  often  untame- 
able.' 

1.  10  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  the  opening  lines  of  No.  LXIV. 

Stanza  2, 1.  1.  Cf.  the  first  words  of  V.  N.,  which  may  have 
been  suggested  by  these,  though  they  are  differently  employed. 

I.3.    diafan  :  'transparency'. 

1.  4.  Cf.  Inf.  xxiv.  145  and  Purg.  ii.  14  for  the  affinity  of 
Mars  with  mists. 

1.  8.  possibile  intelletto  may  be  roughly  defined  as  '  the 
universal  intellect ',  that  which  informs  the  acting  intellect  of 
the  individual.  See  Purg.  xxv.  65.  It  is  conceivable  that  Guido, 
who  had  the  reputation  of  a  free-thinker,  may  use  the  term  to 
avoid  ' divino  intelletto'. 

1.  9.  suggetto  :  '  that  which  underlies  ',  almost  equivalent  to 
'  material '. 

1.  10.  pesanza:  this  is  the  reading  of  the  Chig.  MS.  Giunta 
has flosanza,  which  is  perhaps  preferable  ;  'it  cannot  rest  there 


256  NOTES 

because  it  does  not  come  down  from  the  nature  of  abstract 
quality,  it  beams  with  perpetual  desire,  but  has  no  delight.' 

Stanza  3,  1.  2.  Giunta :  Perche  perfezion  si,  which  upsets 
the  internal  rime. 

1.  4.  fuor  di  salute  seems  to  mean, '  when  it  is  necessary  to 
destroy  as  well  as  to  save '. 

1.  5.  '  And  the  intention  is  as  good  a  reason  as  the  act.'  This 
is  very  much  the  teaching  of  Aquinas. 

1.  6.  in  cui  e  vizio  amico :  a  condensed  way  of  saying  '  in 
him  to  whom ',  &c. 

Stanza  4, 1.  2.  Cf.  Purg.  xvii.  98  and  the  following  exposi- 
tion of  the  manner  in  which  love  may  be  the  source  of  sin. 

1.  5.  stoma :  usually  '  to  turn  away ',  '  to  turn  back ',  but 
here  it  seems  to  mean  to  •  alter '  or  '  change'. 

I.  11.  Cf.  the  sonnet  '  Negli  occhi  porta',  V.  N.  §  xxi, 
especially  11.  13,  14;  but  of  course  the  notion  is  common  to  all 
love-poetry. 

II.  12-14.  '  Let  not  either  great  or  little  wisdom  make  any 
effort  to  draw  love  to  himself,  nor  go  about  to  find  pleasure 
from  it.' 

Stanza  5,  1.  1.  tragge  complessione :  cf.  di  complession 
potenziate,  Par.  vii.  140.  The  complession  is  the  mingling  of 
qualities  which  goes  to  make  up  all  animate  and  inanimate 
things,  and  from  which  they  take,  as  one  may  say,  their 
character.  The  exact  construction  of  this  line  is  not  easy  to 
see  ;  probably  sguardo  is  the  subject  of  tragge :  '  a  look  draws 
forth  love  from  one  of  like  disposition '. 

1.  3.  Chig.  MS.  reads  si  giunto,  as  does  the  Giunta.  I  have 
followed  Nannucci's  reading,  sorgiunto,  '  overtaken,'  as  giving 
a  more  lively  image. 

1.  5.    Cf.  Ovid's  well-known  res  est  solliciti plena  timoris  amor. 

1.  8.  Giunta  :  compriso.  This  line  as  it  stands  seems  unin- 
telligible, unless  we  can  take  om  priso  as  meaning  '  when  the 
man  is  taken '  j  or  might  we  read  c'  a  om  ?  '  Whiteness  '  (or 
'  a  blank ')  '  falls  over  such  objects ',  i.  e.  of  love. 

1.  1 1.  Mon. :  esser  e,  but  the  words  seem  to  mean  •  separated 
from  existence ', '  that  which  emanates  from  the  beloved  object 
is  colourless  and  apart  from  actual  being  '. 


NOTES  257 

1.  12.  mezzo  oscuro  :  '  a  dark  medium '.  The  same  phrase 
occurs  as  a  varia  lectio  in  some  MSS.  and  edd.  of  Purg.  i.  15. 

1.  13.  Mon. :  dice  om  degno ;  Giunta :  dice  degno,  but  it  is 
rather  the  author's  remark  than  that  of  a  supposed  '  man  \ 


LXVIII. 

This  little  piece  is  referred  to  by  Dante  in  V.  E.  ii.  6  as  an 
example  of  the  most  excellent  construction  (see  introduction  to 
No.  LXII).  Beyond  graceful  expression  there  is  nothing  particu 
larly  noticeable  about  it.  In  the  Giunta  edition  it  is  classed  among 
the  ballate,  though  it  does  not  seem  to  be  in  the  strict  ballata 
form,  consisting  as  it  does  of  two  stanzas  each  of  four  hendeca- 
syllabic  lines,  and  one  of  seven  lines,  3  and  5  being  short.  The 
rime-scheme  of  the  first  two  stanzas  is  ABBC  ABBC  ;  for  the 
third:  ABBCCDD. 

Stanza  2, 1.  2.  It  might  be  better  to  read  a  t.g.  a  v. p. ;  as 
the  line  stands  we  should  expect  di  vita. 

LXIX. 

Cino  de'  Sinibuidi  of  Pistoia  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
figures  in  Italian  literary  history.  Born  five  years  after  Dante,  who 
always  refers  to  himself  in  V.  E.  as  '  Cino's  friend ',  he  also  was 
one  of  those  to  whom  the  early  sonnet  '  A  ciascun'  alma  presa ' 
was  sent,  and  who  replied  to  it ;  though,  if  the  usually  received 
date  of  his  birth  be  correct,  he  must  have  been  very  young  at 
the  time.  He  lived  till  1336,  and  interchanged  verse  with  the 
youthful  Petrarch,  who,  when  Cino  died,  was  a  man  of  thirty- 
two.  This  selection  being  confined  to  poems  before  1300,  none 
of  his  later  work  has  been  included.  Of  the  three  poems  which 
are  given,  one  is  known  to  have  been  earlier  than  that  date,  and 
the  style  of  the  other  two  seems  to  show  that  they  were  youthful 
productions.  He  was  eminent  both  as  poet  and  lawyer.  A  con- 
siderable quantity  of  his  verse  remains  to  us,  though  a  good 
deal  of  it  is  of  no  extraordinary  merit.  However,  he  was  an 
elegant  versifier,  and  may  to  some  extent  be  regarded  as  the 
predecessor  of  Petrarch  himself,  and  so  of  all  the  long  series 


253  NOTES 

of  Italian  lyric  poets,  for  two  hundred  years  and  more,  to  whom 
finish  of  style  and  elaborate  conceits  rather  than  any  beauty  or 
originality  of  thought  were  the  important  elements  of  poetry. 
Cino,  however,  like  Petrarch,  could  occasionally  touch  a  nobler 
chord,  as  the  following  ode,  addressed  to  Dante  after  the  death 
of  Beatrice,  is  sufficient  to  show.  It  is  another  of  those  cited  by 
Dante  in  V.  E.  ii.  6  to  illustrate  the  most  excellent  style  ;  in 
spite  of  which  Allacci  assigns  it  to  Guido  Guinizelli.  It 
consists  of  five  stanzas  of  fourteen  lines  (lines  9  and  1 1  being  of 
seven  syllables),  with  a  comiato  of  six  lines.  Rime-scheme : 
ABCABCCDDEECFF  ;  comiato,  ABBACC. 

Stanza  i,  1.  i.  ch'  io  non  aggio:  All.  che  del  maggio, 
a  fair  specimen  of  his  editing. 

1.  4.  tempo  may  possibly  be  justified  by  treating  per  tetttpo 
in  1.  1  as  an  adverb. 

1.  7.     Cf.  canzone  in  V.  N.  xxxii,  St.  2, 1.  1. 

1.  8.  Cf.  V.  N.  ii. :  '  la  quale  fu  chiamata  da  molti  Beatrice, 
i  quali  non  sapeano  che  si  chiamare.' 

1.  13.     a  posta  :  almost  equivalent  to  Fr.  a  propos. 

Stanza  2,  1.  6.  corrotto  :  'grief.  Originally  it  was  the 
participle,  corrotto  di  do/ore,  '  broken  up  with  grief.  It  is  diffi- 
cult not  to  connect  the  word  with  Prov.  corrotz  and  Fr.  courroux, 
though  in  these  the  meaning  of  '  anger '  is  more  prominent. 
Diez,  however,  would  derive  both  these,  as  well  as  the  It.  cor- 
ruccio,  from  cholera. 

I.  8.  del  suo  maggiore  seems  to  mean  here  '  in  its  greatest 
measure '. 

II.  10-12.  An  obvious  reference  to  the  canzone  '  Donne 
ch'  avete',  V.  N.  §  19,  showing  that  so  much  at  least  of  the 
Vita  Nuova  had  been  written  before  this  time. 

Stanza  3, 1.  1.    che  pianto  adopra :  *  of  what  help  is  weep- 


ing 


?» 


Stanza  4,  11.  1-4.    Cf.  Petrarch,  Sonnets,  Part  II,  75  : 

Ond*  io  voglie  e  pensier  tutti  al  ciel  ergo, 
Perche  io  1'  odo  pregar  pur  ch'  i'  m'  affretti. 

The  entire  sonnet,  indeed,  seems  to  be  based  on  reminiscences 
of  this  poem. 


NOTES  259 

Stanza  5.  The  opening  lines  of  this  stanza  have  a  certain 
resemblance,  more  in  sentiment  than  in  the  actual  phraseology, 
to  those  in  Lycidas  beginning  '  So  Lycidas  sunk  low,  but 
mounted  high'.  It  is,  however,  hardly  close  enough  to  allow 
us  to  infer  any  suggestion. 

11.  11,  12.  Cf.  again  the  opening  lines  of  Petrarch's-  sonnet 
quoted  above. 

Comiato,  1.  5.  Unless  Dio  is,  contrary  to  the  usual  rule,  to 
be  taken  as  two  syllables,  this  line  is  short,  and  I  have  suggested 
lo  re~  to  complete  it. 

LXX. 

This  poem  is  cited  by  Dante,  V.  E.  II.  ii,  in  the  famous  passage 
where  he  lays  down  that  the  highest  subjects  for  poetry  are  love, 
warlike  heroism,  and  morals.  It  is  obviously  a  poem  of  the 
author's  youth,  and  little  more  than  an  exercise  in  the  early 
style,  as  shown  by  the  predominance  of  short  lines,  and  the  use 
of  words  like  cotiquide,  which  by  the  end  of  the  century  were 
becoming  obsolete.  With  the  rest  of  Cino's  work,  it  is  lacking 
from  the  Vat.  MS.,  nor  is  it  in  any  of  the  printed  collections 
with  which  I  am  acquainted,  save  that  of  Villarosa,  from  whom 
I  have  taken  it ;  unless  it  be  in  Carducci's  of  1862,  but  as  that 
work  has  no  index  it  is  hard  to  say  what  is  in  it  without  reading 
it  through.  The  stanzas  are  of  fourteen  lines,  3,  6,  7,  10,  II,  14 
being  long.    Rime-scheme:  ABCCBADEEDEDDE. 

Stanza  i,  1.  5.    men:  me  ne. 

1.  6.  io  should  almost  certainly  be  ei,  sc.  aviore:  'I  stole 
love  from  your  eyes  so  secretly  that  you  did  not  know  when  he 
went  out.' 

Stanza  2, 1.  9.    conquide :  see  note  to  No.  XV,  St.  3, 1.  2. 

1.  10.  tragger  .  .  .  guai  :  cf.  Inf.  v.  48. — guai:  the  initial  g 
of  guai  points  to  its  coming  rather  from  the  Gothic  wax  than 
from  the  Latin  vae,  though  of  course  the  two  words  are  closely 
akin  ;  these,  and  the  German  weh,  our  '  woe ',  all  belong  to  the 
same  family. 

1.  14.  giudizio :  carrying  on  the  idea  of  rio,  'the  criminal,' 
in  1.  10. 

S  2 


260  NOTES 

Stanza  3,  1.  1.  non  vi  caglia:  'take  no  heed  of,  as  in 
Purg.  viii.  12.  From  Lat.  calere,  literally  '  to  grow  warm '.  O.Fr. 
chaloir,  whence  nonchalant. 

11. 1 2, 1 3.  Villarosa  prints  signor  che  ferdonanza,  thus  making 
the  stanza  a  line  short.  The  last  four  lines  of  course  contain  the 
old  idea  that  the  lord  who  pardons  is  better  than  he  who 
punishes. 

LXXI. 

This  ode  is  quoted  by  Dante  in  the  same  passage  as  Al  cor 
gentil  and  others,  V.  E.  ii.  5,  to  show  that  the  opening  of  a 
canzone  with  a  line  of  eleven  syllables  is  the  practice  of  the 
highest  '  doctores '.  The  stanzas  are  three  in  number,  of  seven- 
teen lines  apiece,  the  shorter  lines  being  3,  7,  15,  16,  the  third 
and  seventh  being  of  5  syllables  only,  an  arrangement  which 
would  point  to  its  being  somewhat  later  than  the  preceding> 
though  the  frequency  of  internal  rimes,  as  well  as  the  intricacy 
of  the  language,  shows  it  to  belong  still  to  the  earlier  school. 
Rime-scheme  :  AaBCcDAaBCcDEeF(e)FFEeFEFF.  (In  the 
last  stanza  the  internal  rime  of  1.  11  is  wanting.) 

Stanza  i,  1. 10.  Vil.,  probably  not  noticing  the  internal  rime, 
reads  vado  cos\  d. 

Stanza  2,  11.  5,  6.  che  and  chi  should  probably  be  trans- 
posed :  '  whoso  sees  a  thing  so  noble  treats  it  as  baseness  to 
have  dealt  me  that  blow '. 

1.  9.    The  subject  to  e  must  be  pietanza. 

1.  14.    afilata  :  'sharpened'. 

Stanza  3,1.  12.    vertfr :  '  power ', '  efficiency '. 

1.  13.     'The  cause  is  not  my  unworthiness.' 

1.  17.    di  ragion  :  '  by  good  right '. 


INDEX    OF    FIRST    LINES 


Ahime,  lasso  taupino  . 

Ai  dolze  e  gaia  terra  Fiorentina 

Ai  lasso,  or  &  stagion 

Al  cor  gentil 

AI  cor  m'  e  nato  . 

Amor  ben  veio    . 

Amor,  che  lungiamente 

Amor,  da  cui  move 

Amore,  in  cui  disio 

Amore,  perche  m'  ai 

Amorosa  donna  fina 

Amor  tanto  altamente 

Ancor  che  l'aigua 

Avegna  ch'  io  non  aggio 

Ben  m'  e  venuta  prima 
Ben  mi  credeva  . 
.  Ben  mi  degio  alegrare 
Biasmomi  dell' amore 

Come  lo  giorno    . 
Comune  perta 
Con  gran  disio     . 
Credea  essere,  lasso 

D'  amoroso  paeso 

Degno  son  io  ch'  i'  mora 

Di  lungia  parte  aduciemi 

Dispietata  morte  e  fera 

Dolcie  coninciamento  . 

Donna,  1'  amor  mi  sforza 

Donna,  lo  fino  amore  . 

Donna  mi  prega,  perche  voglio  d 

Donna,  audite  como    . 

D'  un'  amcrosa  voglia  . 

Fin  amor  mi  comforta 

Gia  lungiamente,  amore 
Giammai  non  mi  conforto 
Gioia  ne  ben  non  e 


PAGE 

130 

105 

88 

128 

32 

13 

35 

1 

3 

59 
23 
85 
37 

136 
10 

116 
65 
5° 

47 

98 

126 

54 

33 
138 
103 

66 

7 
120 

69 
133 

15 
I02 

114 

53 
20 

"3 


262 


INDEX   OF   FIRST   LINES 


Ciioiosamente  canto 
Gravosa  dimoranza 
In  gioi'  mi  tengo 
Ispendiente  Stella 

La  mia  vita  e  si  forte 

La  partenza  che  fo  dolorosa 

Lo  gran  valor  e  lo  pregio 

Madonna,  dir  vi  voglio 
Madonna,  il  fino  amore 
Maravigliosamente 
Morte,  perche 

Non  gia  per  gioia 
Non  spero  che  gia  mai 

Oi  lassa  namorata 
Oi  lasso  !  nom  pensai 

Per  fino  amore  vo  si 

Per  lo  marito  c'  6  rio 

Poiche  di  doglia  . 

Poi  non  mi  val  merce 

Ouando  appar  1'  aulente  fiore 

Ouando  la  primavera  . 

Rosa  fresca  aulentissima 

Sei  anni  6  travagliato  . 

Si  come  il  pescio 

Tal  e  la  fiamma  e  lo  foco 

Tanto  sovente  dett5  agio 

Tengnol  di  folle  impresa 

Tutto  il  dolor 

Tutto  lo  mondo  vive  '. 

Tuttor  agg'  io 

Tuttor  la  dolze  speranza 

Tuttor  s'  eo  veglio 

Umile  core  e  fino  e  amoroso 

Una  fermana  iscoppai  da  Cascioli 

Vergongno,  lasso 


ERRATA 

P.  19, 1. 14  for  tiranare  read  tii-anire. 

P.  22,  1.  9  for  [pitt]  e  read  fiiu  (<?). 

P.  28,  No.  XVI,  1.  6  for  e  read  <?. 

P.  29,  1.  12  for  <?  (tut id)  read  ^  [/»]  te//d. 

P.  31,  1.  3  for  che  mi  read  ^^  lo  mi. 

P.  37.    At  end  of  No.  XX  insert  (V.R.V.,  Giunta,  Mon.). 

P.  39,  1.  25  for  la  vostra  read  lo  vostro. 

P.  42, 1.  2  for  che  read  ch'  e. 

P.  49, 1.  3  for  amore  read  amort. 

P.  55,  1.  4  for  mira  read  mira  'n. 

P.  87,  1.  5  for  approvo  read  approvb. 

P.  88,  1.  16  for  <V/fc'>  ^/  read  a*'  //. 

P.  90,  1.  8  for  a  combattuto  read  a  combaituto. 

Note  '  for  m.  read  ;«zV#. 
P.  91,  last  line,  for  viaciere  read  giacere. 
P.  100,  1.  8  for  sol  read  d5*  «w  j*?/. 
P.  102,  at  end  of  No.  XLIX  insert  (V.R.V.). 
P.  121,  1.  3  insert  semicolon  at  end. 
P.  127,  1.  13  insert  full  stop  at  end. 


OXFORD  :    HORACE    HART    M.A. 
PRINTER   TO    THE    UNIVERSITY 


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